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 two plans illustrate the changes made to the college cafe before and after redesign.

Overall, there are several changes took place in the process of redesign through adding new features like a barbecue and salad bar. The kitchen, tables & chairs remains unchanged.

Looking at the plan before modification, cafe contains an entrance at the east side of the block. Followed by a two staff dining rooms, the kitchen is combined with serving area which is located in the north-west direction. At the entrance a small bin and toilets are placed. There are tables and chairs in the centre of the cafe,

In the present plan, the new outdoor seating was constructed with barbecue. The entrance at the east side of the block remains same and new entrances are built for outdoor seating. Two staff dinning are replaced by take away food and coffee bar respectively. In the kitchen area the serving aera was demolished and hot meals was constructed. Where the new salad bar was built at the west side of the cafe and on the opposite side the small bin was changed to large recycling bins.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main transformation clearly: the former staff dining rooms become a takeaway-food area and coffee bar, and the redesign adds outdoor seating, a barbecue and a salad bar. You also note that the kitchen and central tables and chairs remain, and that the bin becomes recycling bins. These are relevant comparisons and give the response a clear overview. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the entrance on the east side is not described as remaining unchanged in the same way as the new southern doors, and the original serving area is replaced by a hot-meals counter rather than being demolished. The locations of the toilets and the new outdoor seating could also be reported more precisely. Covering these features accurately and developing the comparison more evenly would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the original and current plans. This makes the main sequence of changes easy to follow. You also use basic linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Looking at the plan before modification,” and “In the present plan.” However, some connections are awkward or unclear. For example, “Followed by a two staff dining rooms, the kitchen…” does not clearly express the layout, and the final paragraph strings several changes together without consistently showing how they relate spatially. The comma at the end of the third paragraph also leaves the sentence unfinished. Use clearer topic sentences and organise each paragraph around locations or types of change, with more precise links between features.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redesign,” “entrance,” “outdoor seating,” “replaced,” and “recycling bins.” These choices communicate many of the changes, and some task-specific terms are used appropriately. However, several word choices and spelling errors reduce precision: “serving aera” is misspelled, “dinning” should be “dining,” and “the serving area was demolished” is not the most accurate description of a counter being relabelled or changed. Phrases such as “small bin” and “large recycling bins” add size information that is not shown in the plan. Aim for precise, neutral map vocabulary and check spelling, especially for key labels. Avoid adding descriptive details that the visual does not establish.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some descriptions awkward. For example, “there are several changes took place” combines incompatible structures; write “several changes took place” or “there were several changes.” In “The kitchen, tables & chairs remains unchanged,” the plural subject requires “remain.” The phrase “cafe contains an entrance” needs an article and a more suitable tense, while “new entrances are built” should be in the past tense to match the completed redesign. Some sentences also lack clear grammatical links, particularly “Followed by a two staff dining rooms…” Practise accurate past-tense descriptions and complete, well-formed comparison sentences.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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