Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 map illustrates layout of a college cafe prior to its new designed compared with it's earlier design.The cafe show significant changes by providing outdoor seating,take away food and hot meals.

The previous design of cafe shows a kitchen at left corner rwhile serving area is located inside the kitchen and satff dinning area which is located adjacent to the serving area & there is only one entrance and exit point in the cafe.

The today cafe design consist of major changes such as staff dinning room are replaced with take away food corner & coffee bar,hotmeal section introduced in place of serving area and at the left there is salad bar opposite to the kitchen with cafe having two new entry and points.Outdoor seating and barbecue is another major to the cafe.

The redesigned cafe is much better than previous cafe design porviding more sitting area with lot of new item of food and drinks.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the new takeaway-food and coffee-bar sections, the hot-meals counter, salad bar, and outdoor seating with a barbecue. You also note that the staff dining rooms were replaced, which captures a major redesign. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the original serving area is described as being “inside the kitchen,” whereas it was along the kitchen’s southern boundary, and the original plan had an entrance on the east wall rather than only one entrance/exit point. The overview that the café is “much better” is an unsupported opinion; instead, summarise the main spatial changes objectively. Mentioning the recycling bins and the toilets’ unchanged position would make the comparison more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph about the former layout, a paragraph on the current design, and a concluding comment. This gives the reader a basic route through the comparison. However, progression within sentences is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in the long sentence beginning “The today cafe design consist,” where several changes are joined together without clear separation. Linking is also limited and occasionally imprecise: “while” does not clearly express the relationship between the kitchen and serving area, and “another major to the cafe” leaves the final point incomplete. Organise the changes by location or by what was retained versus added, and use clearer sentence boundaries and reference words.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary such as “layout,” “serving area,” “take away food,” “coffee bar,” “salad bar,” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, word choice and spelling are inconsistent, including “new designed,” “dinning,” “hotmeal,” and “porviding.” Some phrases are not natural or precise for describing a plan: “major to the cafe” and “new item of food and drinks” do not clearly convey the intended meaning. “Entry and points” is also an awkward description of the new southern doors. Aim for accurate collocations and consistent forms, such as “redesigned,” “dining rooms,” and “additional entrances,” and avoid evaluative wording like “much better” in an objective report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main comparison is generally understandable. However, errors in sentence construction and basic grammar are frequent enough to make some parts difficult to read. For example, “The previous design of cafe shows” lacks an article and uses an unsuitable verb form, while “The today cafe design consist” has an incorrect construction and subject–verb agreement. The opening also contains a run-on boundary between “design” and “The cafe,” and the final sentence has an incomplete structure: “Outdoor seating and barbecue is another major to the cafe.” Practise accurate articles, agreement, and complete sentences, and use full stops to separate lists of changes. These corrections would make your ideas much clearer.

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

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