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 map of a college cafe ilustrate comparesion how it look before redesign and after design. Overall, the cafe shop before redesign not much decore. However after intergrate the cafe shop it look much better thare are more spaces to use.

A college cafe shop before intergrate, there is a kitchen space that serving area about food and drink for customer. In addtion, if we look at the middle side of the cafe we can see the combine of two room which is staff room use for dining and outside of that room is place where are tables and chairs for customer. At the right side of cafe shop has toilets and bin.

In contrast, the cafe shop have been designed we can see the kitchen is still there but inside is different it change to hot meal instead. On the one hand, staff rooms were transfered to take away food and coffe bar while table, chairs and toilets were remain stable. The spaces that new update were salad bar and outdoor seating it more convenient for customer.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main before-and-after change and give an overview that the café has been updated, then compare the kitchen, former staff rooms, seating and toilets. These are relevant features, and you correctly note that the kitchen remains and the former staff rooms become takeaway and coffee-bar areas. However, the overview is vague and includes an unsupported judgement that the café “look much better” and has “more spaces to use.” Several important changes are omitted: the salad bar, recycling bins replacing the bin, and the new southern doors, outdoor seating and barbecue. Some details are also unclear, such as the serving area being described as part of the kitchen. Select the major changes more fully and describe their locations accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic three-part structure: an introduction and overview, a description of the original café, and a comparison with the redesigned version. This gives the reader a general sense of the sequence, and phrases such as “In contrast” signal a change of focus. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several features are compressed into long, loosely connected sentences. For example, the sentence beginning “In addtion, if we look at the middle side” combines the staff rooms, their use and the customer seating without clear relationships. “On the one hand” is also not an appropriate contrast marker here. Group features by area or by what changed, and use clearer linking and reference.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “kitchen,” “staff room,” “tables and chairs,” “toilets,” and “outdoor seating,” so the main subject is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several inaccurate or informal choices make the description less precise. “Cafe shop” is repetitive, “combine of two room” does not clearly describe the two staff dining rooms, and “transfered” is not the natural verb for their conversion. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “ilustrate,” “intergrate,” “coffe,” and “thare.” Use standard plan-description terms such as “area,” “section,” “was converted into,” and “remained unchanged,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a contrast between the original and redesigned café. However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors sometimes make relationships between features difficult to understand. For example, “The map … ilustrate comparesion how it look” lacks a correct verb pattern, while “the cafe shop before redesign not much decore” has no complete verb structure. Agreement and tense are also inconsistent in “the cafe shop have been designed” and “table, chairs and toilets were remain stable.” Articles, plurals and punctuation need more reliable control. Practise accurate basic clauses first, then combine them with clear subordinate clauses; use past forms for the original plan and present forms for the current layout.

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