Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-29

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)

This chart basicallt demonstrate college cafe before it was redesigned and how it appears now. let us start with the top where kitchen is located. The space covered is equally same but they included hot meals replacing the serving area. They removed staff dining rooms and introduced the coffe bar at the same place, take away food option is right next to it and they both giving cafe a modern look as well. Salaad bar is a new opening just after the kitchen and opposite to recycling bins. As the cafe introduce new things the size of recycle bin also increase it covers more area before redesigned. The best part in barbecue which introduce out side the main component area and there was outdoor sitting as well. and the toilets remains the same. Overall, it was a great change and giving it a fresh and modernize look to a new cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the replacement of the serving area with a hot-meals counter, the removal of the staff dining rooms, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. However, the response does not give a clear, accurate overview of the main changes, and some details are unclear or misreported: the salad bar is along the western wall, not simply “just after the kitchen,” and the plan does not show the recycling bins increasing in size. The toilets remain in the same corner, but other key features, such as the new doors to the outdoor area, could be described more precisely. The response is also 142 words, below the 150-word minimum; the nine words copied from the task prompt are not counted. Develop the comparisons with accurate location details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a loose sequence, beginning with the kitchen and then mentioning other changes, and “Overall” signals an attempt to summarise. However, it is presented as one paragraph, so the overview and supporting details are not clearly separated. Several links are awkward or unclear: “Salaad bar is a new opening just after the kitchen and opposite to recycling bins” makes the location difficult to follow, while “The best part in barbecue” does not clearly connect to the preceding point. The repeated use of “and” also makes the progression feel list-like. Organise the response into a brief overview followed by grouped details, such as changes inside and additions outside, and use clearer linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a redesigned space, including “replacing,” “introduced,” “opposite,” and “outdoor seating.” These choices help communicate the general nature of the changes. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the description hard to interpret. For example, “the size of recycle bin also increase” is not supported by the plan, and “new opening” is not a natural way to describe a salad bar. There are also spelling errors such as “basically,” “coffee,” and “salad.” Use precise plan vocabulary such as “counter,” “section,” and “located,” and check spelling and collocations before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences and uses basic present-tense forms to describe the plans, but the range of sentence structures is limited and errors occur frequently. Subject–verb agreement is inconsistent in “they both giving” and “the toilets remains,” while “as the cafe introduce new things” also has an incorrect verb form. Sentence boundaries and punctuation need attention: “and there was outdoor sitting as well. and the toilets…” begins a sentence with a lowercase conjunction, and several clauses are joined without clear structure. These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Practise accurate simple sentences first, then combine them with controlled clauses using “while,” “whereas,” or “which.”

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

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