Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-28

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 map demonstrate the college cafe's design past and now .

Overall , it is clear that the kitchen and toilet remain unchange . But now outdoor seating area and salad bar has been constructed .

To begin with , before redesign college cafe the kitchen in west-north side remain stable . The serving area in bottom kitchen convert into hot meals area . Moreover , the two staff dining rooms which located north side were trasform into take away food and coffee bar .

Futhermore , the bin in east side turn into recycle bin . The toilet which was in east-south corner remain stable . However , the tables and chairs in centre of college cafe remain same but the salad bar now build there in west side . The barbecue and outdoor seating area is constructed .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main redesign clearly: the kitchen and toilets remain, the former staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee areas, and new outdoor seating and a salad bar are added. These are relevant comparisons, and the overview gives the reader a general sense of what changed. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the salad bar is on the western wall, not in the central seating area, and the outdoor seating is south of the café, with the barbecue to its south-west. The response also does not meet the 150-word minimum, so the description is brief and several features are under-developed, including the new southern doors and recycling bins. Add these details and describe locations more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes. This gives the information an overall arrangement, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “To begin with,” and “Moreover” help signal progression. However, the sequence within the final paragraph is not always easy to follow: the central seating, western salad bar, barbecue, and outdoor seating are grouped together without clearly distinguishing their locations. Some transitions also feel mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “remain” and “However” where the relationship is not a contrast. Organise the details by area—for example, north, east, then south—and use clearer references such as “the former bin position” to make comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redesign,” “serving area,” “staff dining rooms,” “centre,” and “constructed.” This gives you enough language to communicate the broad changes. However, several word choices and forms are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “remain unchange,” “trasform,” “recycle bin,” and “the salad bar now build there.” Spelling errors such as “Futhermore” also reduce precision. Some phrases, including “design past and now” and “west-north side,” are not natural ways to describe the plans. Build a more accurate set of map-description collocations, such as “was converted into,” “was replaced by,” and “along the western wall,” and check spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “However” and a relative clause in “the two staff dining rooms which located north side.” The main message is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors make relationships and time changes less clear. For example, “The map demonstrate” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the kitchen and toilet remain unchange” lacks an appropriate verb form and tense. In “the two staff dining rooms which located,” the relative clause needs a passive verb (“which were located”). Use consistent past forms for the former layout and present forms for the current one, and check articles and agreement. More accurate sentence patterns would improve clarity while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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