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)

The pictures here comapres the cafe design before and after it was renovated.

If we compare the old design and the present one have alot of renovation had been done. For instance outdoor seatings, barbecue, salad and bar etcetera.Overall the updated cafe looks more beautiful and have better facilities.

The old cafe design had basic infrastructure, on the entrance left ,a smaller section of bin with toilets right next to it,staff dinning rooms in front of general sitting area and kitchen in the other corner with serving area for food and drink to its front, whereas if we look at the redesigned cafe, outdoor sitting area is added with barbecue services and staff dinning rooms are now replaced with food takeway and coffee bar. New section of salad bar before the barbecue station, food and drink section changed to hot meals.

Overall, alot of new changes had been made to the cafe design with few additional service stations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main change from a basic café to one with additional facilities, including outdoor seating, a barbecue, a salad bar, takeaway food and a coffee bar. You also note that the kitchen remains and that the former staff dining rooms have been replaced. These are relevant comparisons and give the response a clear overall focus. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the bin and toilets were not next to each other, and the salad bar is inside along the western wall, not “before the barbecue station.” The overview that the café is “more beautiful” is subjective; describe the functional changes instead. To develop the report further, compare the unchanged central seating and toilets, and explain the new southern access to the outdoor area.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an opening, a broad overview and a paragraph describing the two layouts, so the reader can follow its general purpose. You use comparison signals such as “whereas” and “if we look at,” and group several changes together. However, the progression is weakened by repeating the general point that many changes were made in both the second and final paragraphs. Some details are also crowded into one long sentence, making relationships harder to follow, particularly the description beginning “The old cafe design had basic infrastructure.” Organise the report more clearly: give the main overview once, then describe the interior changes and the outdoor additions in a logical order. Use precise references to locations to connect the comparisons.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a café plan, including “renovated,” “serving area,” “staff dining rooms,” “takeaway” and “outdoor seating.” This gives you enough range to communicate the main changes, but several choices are imprecise or informal. “More beautiful” is subjective rather than a useful description of the redesign, while “barbecue services” and “service stations” do not accurately name the features shown. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, such as “comapres,” “dinning” and “takeway.” Aim for accurate plan vocabulary and consistent spelling; for example, refer to a “barbecue area” and “food counters” where appropriate. Avoid vague fillers such as “etcetera.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentence forms, including a comparison with “whereas,” and the main message is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and agreement occur often enough to make some descriptions awkward. For example, “If we compare the old design and the present one have…” lacks a clear grammatical structure, and “the updated cafe looks more beautiful and have better facilities” has a subject–verb agreement error. The long sentence beginning “The old cafe design had basic infrastructure” also needs clearer clause boundaries and punctuation. Practise building complete comparison sentences, such as “The café now has outdoor seating, whereas the original plan had only indoor tables.” Check agreement and use commas to separate introductory phrases and clauses.

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