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 plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Overall, their is a map of cafe that is the difference of before redesing and after the completion of the design. In the map today's cafe is advance and also add new departments in the cafe which looks very good.

In the first design looks simple and not enough space for the customers.In this design we have left side kitchin and in front of kitchin have a food serving area and in the middle of the hall their are two rooms for the staff and remaining hall for other students and right side of the corner have a toilets.

Now, today's cafe looks so beautifull and added new rooms and increases the seating capacity. After the redesigning kittchin area increased and remove staff dinning rooms and make two new rooms take away food and caffee bar and also add the outdoor seating which looks so good. In cafe hall add a new salad bar and outside the hall we have new barbecue for the students.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main contrast between the original and redesigned café, including the new takeaway and coffee-bar rooms, salad bar, outdoor seating and barbecue, as well as the removal of the staff dining rooms. These are relevant features and show that you understand the broad changes. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: you say the kitchen area “increased,” although the plan shows it remaining in the same upper-left position, and “in the middle of the hall” does not accurately locate the former staff rooms along the north wall. The overview also relies on subjective comments such as “looks very good” rather than summarising the key spatial changes. To strengthen the report, describe the unchanged features and the new southern outdoor area more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the earlier and current layouts. This gives the reader a basic chronological progression, and phrases such as “In the first design” and “Now” help signal the comparison. However, the overview is vague, and several ideas are crowded into long sentences, particularly the paragraph beginning “Now, today’s cafe…”. The relationship between details is sometimes difficult to follow, while repeated use of “and” makes the linking mechanical. Organise the body by location or by changes versus features that stayed the same, and use clearer sentence boundaries and references to guide the reader through the plans.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “serving area,” “staff dining rooms,” “seating capacity,” “salad bar” and “barbecue,” so the reader can understand many of the changes. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or informal, such as “the cafe is advance,” “new departments,” and “looks so good.” Spelling errors—including “redesing,” “kitchin,” “beautifull” and “caffee”—also reduce precision. Aim for neutral, map-reporting language and use exact terms for locations and facilities. A wider set of verbs such as “remained,” “was replaced by,” and “was added” would help you describe the changes more accurately and avoid repetition.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the main message is generally understandable. However, some grammatical errors make relationships between features unclear. For example, “their is a map” has incorrect subject–verb agreement, while “in front of kitchin have a food serving area” lacks a clear grammatical subject and verb. Articles and plurals are also inconsistent in phrases such as “a toilets” and “two rooms for the staff.” Several sentences join multiple ideas without clear punctuation, especially the description beginning “Now, today’s cafe…”. Practise forming complete clauses with accurate agreement and articles, then separate each major change into a sentence. More controlled complex sentences would improve clarity.

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