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 two maps given below illustrates the cafe of college before the development and after the development.

Overall, the college cafe before the development shows that there are limited things in the cafe, and after the development, the college cafe has many things added.

The college cafe before redesign shows that, there are two staff dining rooms which have two tables and 12 chairs, a bin, toilets, serving area which includes all foods and drinks, and a kitchen.

The college cafe after the redesign shows that, there are three entrances, two rooms one for take away foods and one room for coffe bar, recycling bins, a salad bar, a counter for hot meals, kitchen, toilets, a barbecue, and outdoor seating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the broad change from a simpler café to one with more facilities, and you include several relevant features, such as the new salad bar, recycling bins, barbecue and outdoor seating. However, the account is mainly a list rather than a summary of the main changes. It omits important comparisons: the staff dining rooms were replaced by takeaway and coffee-bar sections, the serving counter became a hot-meals counter, and new doors connect the café to the outdoor area. The claim that there are “three entrances” is not clearly supported by the plan. The response is also 30 words below the required minimum, limiting the detail you can provide. Develop the overview and compare the before-and-after layout more explicitly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the café before and after the redesign. This makes the information easy to follow at a general level. However, the two body paragraphs mostly present inventories, so the reader has to infer how the layout changed. The repeated openings “The college cafe before redesign shows that” and “The college cafe after the redesign shows that” also make the progression mechanical. Organise details by change—for example, describe what happened to the north-side rooms and serving area, then cover the new facilities and outdoor connection. Use linking phrases such as “whereas,” “in contrast,” and “in addition” to make comparisons clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “staff dining rooms,” “serving area,” “recycling bins,” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can identify many of the facilities. The range is nevertheless limited, with repeated use of “shows,” “things,” “rooms,” and “development.” Some expressions are imprecise or awkward, such as “limited things” and “many things added,” which do not describe the specific changes. There are also spelling and word-form issues, including “coffe” and “foods” where the labels are better reported as “coffee” and “food.” Build a more precise range for describing plans, such as “was replaced by,” “was converted into,” and “was added.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your response uses simple sentences and a few longer structures, and the main meaning is generally understandable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent. The opening says “The two maps … illustrates,” where the plural subject requires “illustrate.” In “before the development shows,” the tense and phrasing are awkward for describing a plan; “the café before the redesign had” would be clearer. Commas after “shows that” are unnecessary in both body paragraphs, and “there are two staff dining rooms which have two tables and 12 chairs” would be more accurate as a past-tense description. Practise accurate subject–verb agreement, past-tense forms for the former layout, and sentence patterns that compare the two plans.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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