Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-20

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 before it was renovated have limited facilities. Before there was a single serving area that serve all kind of food and drinks but after redesign kitchen only serve hot meals. There is now seperate setup for coffee and take away that is in place of staff dininig room. Barbecue section is new addition outside the cafe that can be acessed from inside. There was only limited area for dine in beacuse of only indoor seating. Now outdoor seating added so there is option for customer and also more can be served at a time.

For trash and other waste there was bin and now it is replaced with a recycling bin so waste can be recycled in proper way. Variety of salad is now available at seperate setup in cafe that is not in old one.Entrance ,exit and toilets are at same place that was in previous one only a door is added near toilets through which one can access outdoor seatings.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

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 change from a general serving area to hot meals. You also note that the toilets remain in the same corner. This covers the main purpose of the plans, and your comparison of the old and new arrangements is generally relevant. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the new door is on the southern wall leading to the outdoor seating, rather than being described as near the toilets, and the barbecue is outside rather than accessible from inside. The response also lacks a clear overview of the overall redesign. A concise opening overview and more precise location descriptions would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response groups related changes into two paragraphs, and contrasts such as “Before” and “after redesign” help readers follow the comparison. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the first paragraph moves from serving arrangements to the barbecue, seating and capacity, while the second shifts between waste, the salad bar and access. Some links are also awkward or repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “now” and “so.” Organise the report more deliberately—for example, first summarise the overall changes, then describe indoor facilities and finally the outdoor area. Clearer sentence boundaries and more precise referencing would help the reader see how each feature relates to the plans.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing the redesign, including “serving area,” “staff dining room,” “outdoor seating” and “recycling bin.” These terms make the main changes understandable, and there is some attempt to use more specific language. However, several spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural expressions reduce control, such as “seperate,” “dininig,” “acessed,” “dine in” and “setup.” Phrases such as “more can be served at a time” are also vague for describing a plan. Use accurate facility names and collocations, such as “separate counter,” “seating capacity” and “the outdoor area is accessed through new doors.” Proofreading spelling and choosing precise terms would make the description clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “but” and a reason-result construction with “so.” The main meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction are frequent enough to affect fluency. For example, “College cafe before it was renovated have limited facilities” has an incorrect verb form, while “a single serving area that serve” needs agreement and consistent tense. “There is now seperate setup” also lacks an article before “setup.” Several ideas run together without clear punctuation, as in “available at seperate setup in cafe that is not in old one.” Practise describing past and present features with consistent tenses, and check each sentence for a clear subject, verb and punctuation.

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