Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-24

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 graph shows the layout of college cafe before and after it's redesigne.

Overall, outdoor seatings were added in southern part of cafe.

It can be seen from map that serving area(foood and drink) was replaced by hot meal area from north-west part of cafe. In the western part, salad bar was added in the left-most corner. Similarly, coffee bar and take away food were erected in southern part of cafe by replacing staff dining rooms.

Furthermore, bin was extended into recycling bins. toilets remain unaltered in the south-east part of cafe. barbecue was added in the south-west part of the cafe which was in the left corner of outside seating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several genuine changes, including the new salad bar, the replacement of the serving area with a hot-meals counter, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. However, the overview is too narrow: it mentions only outdoor seating rather than summarising the broader redesign, and some details are inaccurate or unclear. The coffee bar and takeaway section replaced the staff dining rooms along the north wall, not in the southern part of the café; the recycling bins replaced the bin rather than being an extension of it. You also omit important features such as the unchanged central seating and toilets. The response is 111 words, below the required 150, which contributes to the limited development. Cover the main changes more fully and accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: a brief introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing changes. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “Similarly,” and “Furthermore” help signal relationships. However, the progression is not consistently clear because features from different parts of the plan are grouped together, and the location description of the coffee bar and takeaway area is misleading. The overview is also too brief to guide the detailed comparison. Organise the body by location or by unchanged and changed features, and use clearer references such as “along the north wall” and “in the central area” to make the spatial relationships easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of map-related vocabulary, including “replaced,” “remain unaltered,” “south-east,” and “south-west,” which helps communicate changes and locations. There are also attempts at more specific terms such as “left-most corner.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, however: “outdoor seatings” is not the natural form, “erected” is unsuitable for facilities inside a café, and “bin was extended into recycling bins” does not clearly express replacement. Spelling errors such as “foood” and “redesigne” also reduce accuracy. Choose precise verbs such as “added,” “converted,” or “replaced,” and use standard labels from the plan where possible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple statements and some more developed structures, including “It can be seen from map that…” and the sentence beginning “Similarly,” so there is some variety. The main information is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. Articles are missing in “from map” and “in southern part,” and the possessive contraction in “before and after it’s redesigne” is not appropriate for the intended meaning. The sentence about the coffee bar and takeaway area also has an unclear location phrase, while punctuation and spacing are inconsistent. Aim for accurate article use and complete, clearly structured sentences—for example, “The café’s layout before and after the redesign is shown in the plans.”

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