Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-19

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

College cafe is the place where students generally like to spend most of their time once they are finished with classes. They hangout with their friends and enjoy the most beautiful chapter of their life before stepping into the professional world.

In the figure 1, which shows the complete layout of cafe eventually before it entered into the redesign phase. Starting from the enterance of cafe which is located at the left side, first stop is serving area where students place there orders. Once the order are being placed, for processing and cooking the orders the move into kitchen. Once the student has placed the order, and complete the procedure of payment etc, they generally move to main hall where tables and chairs are placed. However, Cafe is not only for students, it is also for staff to have their leaisure time. In the hall we also have 2 staff dinning rooms where staff can enjoy their leasiure time. In each room, we have a central table surrounded by 6 chairs. If we move straight from hall section, we can finds bins that are placed and right to bin is we have toilets. However the cafe has being redesigned.

In the next figure, we have the updated layout of the entire cafe. Students and staff enter from left side of cafe. Once the enter, they got mainly 2 options. Left to them are is the Salad Bar, while Hot meals counter is located on the right side. Hot meals order are processed at kitchen which is located at the back. If we go straight, we can find Tables and chairs where students can sit and enjoy the time, however in the previous layout if we look at, we got 2 staff dinning area, which is now being replaced by take away food and coffee bar counter. Location of recycling bins and toilets are same as of previous architecture layout. However left to toilets is the newly added outdoor setting where students who like to hangout in open air can sit as proper sitting arrangement have been done. Also students also have a new option for barbecue. Overall the entire architecture has been upgraded so students can have good time to enjoy apart from their busy study schedule.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important changes, including the replacement of the staff dining rooms with takeaway and coffee facilities, the addition of a salad bar and outdoor seating, and the retention of the toilets and central tables. However, the account only partially fulfils the map-summary task because it spends substantial space on imagined student routines and opinions rather than describing the plans objectively. Some details are inaccurate: the original entrance is on the upper-right wall, not the left, and each staff room has four chairs, not six. The overview is also vague: saying the cafe was “upgraded” does not clearly summarise the main spatial changes. Focus on the layout, accurately compare the two plans, and avoid unsupported commentary about how people use the cafe.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic chronological structure: it describes the original cafe, then the redesigned one, and uses transitions such as “However” and “In the next figure” to signal the shift. This gives the reader some sense of organisation. However, progression within paragraphs is often difficult to follow because the description moves between imagined customer actions and locations, and several directions are unclear or contradictory. For example, the original entrance is described as being on the left, while the account then says “first stop” is the serving area; the plans do not show this route. Repeated “However” and “Once” links also make cohesion mechanical. Group details by area or by changes, and use clear references to the plan’s sides.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing facilities, including “serving area,” “kitchen,” “tables and chairs,” “recycling bins,” and “outdoor seating.” This gives you a minimally adequate range for the topic. However, word choice is often informal or imprecise for an academic plan description: “hangout,” “beautiful chapter of their life,” and “have good time” are conversational and do not report the visual information. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, such as “enterance,” “dinning,” “leaisure,” and “setting” where “seating” is intended. Use neutral terms such as “located,” “replaced,” and “added,” and check spelling carefully so the reader can focus on the comparisons.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of longer sentences and simpler statements, and some relationships between features are understandable. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors sometimes make the intended meaning difficult to follow. Examples include the fragment “In the figure 1, which shows…,” the agreement error “Once the order are being placed,” and the malformed construction “If we move straight from hall section, we can finds bins.” Articles and prepositions are also inconsistent, as in “at back” and “right to bin is we have toilets.” Several sentences run together or use unclear punctuation. Practise complete subject–verb structures, consistent present-tense descriptions, and shorter sentences that accurately locate each feature.

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