Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-23

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 image illustrates an redesigned cafe of a collage before doing renovastion and after completing it.

To start with the old Cafe there was kitchen which was beside an serving area for both food and drinks, and beside it there was Staff dining rooms which had two big tables and few chairs also and there was a big area for all other people which had many tables and chairs for them to seat and eat or drink also there were toilets in the other side of corner and beside the toiltes there was a bin to throw things and on the same side was also and door.

Adding on, the new Cafe has an kitchen on the same side as old on but beside it now has a hot meals table and also now there is an area beside it for take away food and for coffee bar the toiles and bin are on the same side but opposite to the bin there is an salad bar on the other side of the room,Tables and chairs are on the same place but there is new thing bluid outside for barbecue and also also outdoor seating.

To conclude, The New Cafe looks more orgnasided and also there outdoor seating and an area for barbecue and for salad bar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover both plans and identify several important changes: the kitchen remains, the serving counter becomes a hot-meals counter, and new take-away, coffee, salad, barbecue and outdoor-seating facilities are introduced. You also note that the central tables and chairs stay in place. These details address the task, but some comparisons are incomplete or unclear. For example, the old staff dining rooms are mentioned, but you do not explain that they are replaced by the take-away and coffee-bar sections. The description of the bin and toilets is also confusing: the toilets remain in the bottom-right corner, while the bin is replaced by recycling bins along the eastern wall. A clearer overview of the main redesign, followed by accurate location details, would make the report more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from the old café to the new one and ending with a brief conclusion. This gives the reader an overall sense of progression, and phrases such as “To start with” and “Adding on” signal the shift between plans. However, the long sentences in both main paragraphs combine many features with repeated “and,” so relationships and locations become difficult to follow. For instance, the old-plan description moves from the serving area to staff rooms, seating, toilets, bin and door without clear separation. The conclusion also repeats details rather than summarising the main contrast. Use shorter sentences, group features by location or change, and use precise references such as “along the eastern wall” to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a café plan, including “kitchen,” “serving area,” “tables and chairs,” “take away food,” and “outdoor seating.” This gives you enough basic language to communicate the main subject. However, the range is limited and some choices are imprecise or informal, such as “big area for all other people” and “new thing bluid outside.” There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “renovastion,” “toiltes,” “orgnasided,” and “bluid,” which can distract the reader. Aim for accurate plan-description terms and avoid vague phrases. For example, describe the central space as the “main seating area” and the new facilities as “an outdoor dining area” and “a barbecue area.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the reader can generally understand the intended comparison between the two plans. However, many sentences are joined into long chains, and errors in articles, agreement, tense and punctuation reduce control. Examples include “an redesigned cafe,” “there was kitchen,” and “there is an salad bar”; these need correct article forms. The opening phrase “before doing renovastion and after completing it” also has an unclear grammatical construction. Commas and full stops are often missing, especially in the long descriptions, which makes sentence boundaries hard to identify. Practise writing one clear sentence for each group of changes, checking articles and verb forms, and punctuating each sentence accurately.

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