Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-27

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 first picture illutrates a collage cafe before its redevelopment. the second picture illustrates the same cafe after redevelopment.

Overall, the cafe have added some new areas and have replaced one area of the cafe.

The cafe before the redevelopment had a big kitchen with a serving area in front of it. Whereas, the outer area was researves for tables and chairs along with two teacher dining room. Near the enterence there was a trash can and toilets near it.

After the redesign the cafe have changed a lot with the same kitchen but now with a hot meals searving area in the front. Outer areas have a recycling trash can, toilets, tables and chairs at the same place. It also includes a take away food area along with a coffee and salad bar. The new area is been created in the outside with tables and chairs for sitting which can be entered from two ways along with a barbecue station.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main change—that the café has gained new facilities—and compare the kitchen and central seating area before and after the redesign. You also report several relevant additions, including the takeaway food area, coffee and salad bars, outdoor seating and barbecue. However, some details are imprecise: the two rooms were staff dining rooms, not “teacher dining room,” and the outdoor seating is accessed through two doors in the southern wall, rather than “from two ways.” The overview is also broad; it would be clearer to highlight that the former staff rooms were converted into food-service areas and that seating was extended outdoors. More precise descriptions of the layout would make the key comparisons fuller and clearer.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall sequence: an introduction, an overview, a description of the original café and then the redesigned café. This makes the comparison easy to follow, and phrases such as “before the redevelopment” and “After the redesign” signal the time contrast. However, the progression within the final paragraph is somewhat list-like, and “Outer areas” is an unclear reference to the café’s interior. The contrast marker “Whereas” is also used as a sentence fragment after the first description. Grouping changes by location—for example, north wall, western wall and outdoor area—and using clearer references would make cohesion less mechanical and the layout easier to visualise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redevelopment,” “serving area,” “recycling” and “barbecue station.” These choices communicate the main changes, but several spelling errors and imprecise or repetitive expressions limit accuracy and flexibility. Examples include “illutrates,” “researves,” “enterence” and “searving”; “trash can” is understandable, but “bin” or “recycling bins” matches the plan more precisely. “Outer area” is also vague when describing the central interior space. Aim to use accurate, plan-specific terms and check spelling carefully. More precise verbs such as “converted” and “added” would help describe the changes without relying repeatedly on “area” and “changed.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast introduced by “Whereas” and the longer sentence describing the outdoor facilities. However, some errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “the cafe have added” should be “the café has added,” while “the cafe have changed” should be “the café has changed.” “The new area is been created” also has an incorrect passive form; use “has been created.” The sentence beginning “Whereas” is incomplete as written, and “two teacher dining room” needs a plural noun phrase. These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the comparison, but more consistent control of basic forms and complete sentences is needed.

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