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)

College has updated their cafe kitchen.The design has changed.The old cafe havent the outdoor seating area.But new cafe contains almost capacity of 22 stdents in outdoor area.

Old cafe has 12 staff seating capacity.Also there was serving area for students.In the new design it was changed and reserved only for hot meals.In the updated design the designer has added specific salad bar just to serve salads.Also they have kept special area for take way food and cofee bar.The location of toilet hasent changed.Also in the old design there was only bin to collect the garbage.But updated design mention the recycle bin which means they have provision of seperating recycling items like plastic bottles,paper cups and sraws.As per new design the special barbecue area has added in the left corner close to outdoor seating area as per new requirement.The indoor seatout hasent changed yet.In outdoor dinning area there are new 5 rectangular tables has added.3 of them has capacity of six and 2 of them has capacity of 4.The new design of cafe will definitely looks good and comfortable with new facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the new salad bar, takeaway and coffee areas, recycling bins, and outdoor seating, and you note correctly that the toilets remain in place. However, some details are inaccurate: the outdoor area has four tables, not five, and the plan does not show the seating capacities you give. The old staff dining rooms are also not simply “12 staff seating capacity”; they are two rooms, each with a table and four chairs. The response lacks a clear overview of the main changes, and the opening claim that the kitchen design changed is not supported—the kitchen remains in the same location. Select the most significant changes and describe them accurately to make the summary more complete and clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response includes a range of relevant features, and linking expressions such as “Also” and “But” help connect some points. However, the ideas are presented as one continuous paragraph, with no clear overview followed by organised comparisons. The repeated use of “Also” makes the progression feel list-like, while “As per new design” introduces a detail without a strong connection to the preceding point. Group the information into paragraphs—for example, an overview, then changes inside and outside—and use clearer contrasts such as “whereas” or “by contrast.” This would give the reader a more logical route through the comparison and reduce the sense of separate, loosely connected observations.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “outdoor seating,” “serving area,” “salad bar,” and “recycle bin,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, several word choices and spellings are inaccurate or awkward, such as “updated their cafe kitchen,” “indoor seatout,” “special area,” and “new requirement.” “Capacity” is also used imprecisely for the outdoor tables, and “recycle bin” would be more accurately expressed as “recycling bins.” These errors limit precision and sometimes make the intended meaning less clear. Build a more accurate set of words for describing plan features and changes, and check spelling and collocations before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences, for example, “In the updated design the designer has added specific salad bar just to serve salads,” but sentence structures are often faulty and the range remains limited. Errors include missing articles (“added specific salad bar”), incorrect verb forms and agreement (“5 rectangular tables has added”), and inconsistent tense (“The new design … will definitely looks good”). Several sentences also run together without reliable punctuation, as in the opening sequence. These problems can make relationships between ideas harder to follow, even though the general topic is usually recognisable. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions of changes and use a mix of controlled simple and complex sentences, checking articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries.

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