Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-25

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 cafe after renovation and before have so many drastic changes. like,before it was a conventional type of cafe just a kitchen and serving area followed by huge dinning area for people and a small designated area for staff.where people collect their food from a single area making lines and sit at the designated dinning hall. whereas, after renovation it has more of a modern design, a seperate counter for hot meals, seperate salad bar and seperate counter for coffee,takeaway food & barbecue.The main advantage of this arrangement is now people who want to eat different food can collect from different stalls. for example a person wants just a coffee will go only on coffee stall whereas in the past there was a single counter for everything which means the persons has to wait in que for a coffee whereas other collecting a whole meal which takes time and is exhausting too.the other big difference is sitting area, now there is an outdoor sitting area as well which was missing before, this has attracted more people to cafes as many people prefer to sit outdoor.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the new hot-meal counter, separate coffee and takeaway facilities, and the addition of outdoor seating. The comparison between the former single serving area and the newer counters is relevant, and you give an overall impression that the café has become more varied. However, the response focuses heavily on imagined customer benefits and queues rather than describing the plans. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: the barbecue is outside, not a counter or stall, and the new recycling bins, salad bar, and unchanged toilets are not mentioned. To make the summary more complete, give a concise overview of the main spatial changes and accurately compare the old and new layouts, including what stayed the same.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable before-and-after structure, and expressions such as “whereas, after renovation” and “the other big difference” help signal comparisons. However, the ideas do not progress consistently as a map summary: the discussion shifts from layout to speculative benefits, queues, and customer preferences. Most of the response is one long paragraph, and several transitions are awkward or repetitive, including repeated uses of “whereas” and “which means.” Organise the answer into a brief introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing the main changes. Use linking phrases to compare locations and features, rather than extending commentary about how customers might use them.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing the redesign, including “serving area,” “designated area,” “separate counter,” and “outdoor sitting area.” These choices make the general topic understandable. However, the range is limited by repeated general words such as “area,” “people,” and “different,” while informal or imprecise expressions such as “stalls,” “huge dinning area,” and “collect their food” are not always suitable for describing a plan. There are also spelling and word-form errors, including “dinning,” “seperate,” and “que.” Aim for precise layout vocabulary and accurate spelling; for example, describe facilities as counters or sections and refer to the central seating area rather than a “dinning hall.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer structures, including a contrast between the old and new arrangements and a conditional example beginning “a person wants just a coffee.” However, many sentences are joined into long, loosely controlled strings, and sentence boundaries and punctuation are often unclear. The opening, “The cafe after renovation and before have so many drastic changes,” has an incorrect verb construction, while “the persons has to wait” shows an agreement error. Articles and sentence structure also need attention in phrases such as “a single counter for everything which means.” Use a wider mix of controlled simple and complex sentences, check subject–verb agreement, and separate each main point with full stops.

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