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)

The plans illustrtae a college cafe before it was resigned and how it looks now. There is a great change in cafe area and better facilities than before.

Overall, it is noticeable that the first change is there is variety of food at different particular places and the least improvment is transform bin into recycling bin which is far better than before.

It is evident that there is the variety of food is available at different places such as hot meals, salad bar, coffee bar and barbecue all these things are available in particular portion with suiable sitting are available.

A closer look reveals that there is only one kitchen before where all the food had to be menaged but now there is various amount of food at proper portions and in old cafe there is only simple bin but now it is upgraded to recycling bin and also now there is proper outdoor sitting area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several genuine changes, including the new hot-meal counter, salad bar, coffee bar, recycling bins and outdoor seating, and you give an overall impression that the café has been improved. This addresses the main subject of the plans. However, the comparison is only partly developed: the response does not explain that the staff dining rooms were replaced by takeaway and coffee areas, that the toilets and central seating remain, or that new southern doors connect the café to the outdoor tables. The barbecue is mentioned as a food option, although the plan shows it as an outdoor area. To make the summary more complete and precise, select the major structural changes and describe their locations and what they replaced.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction and overview to further details, so the reader can recognise an attempt to organise the comparison. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the third and fourth paragraphs repeat the idea that food is now available in different places, while important changes are not grouped or contrasted systematically. Linking phrases such as “Overall,” “It is evident” and “A closer look reveals” provide some signposting, but they do not always lead to distinct information. References such as “these things” and “proper portions” are also unclear. Organise the body by area—for example, changes inside the café, followed by the new outdoor facilities—and use direct comparisons to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “kitchen,” “recycling bin,” “hot meals,” “salad bar” and “outdoor seating,” which helps communicate the general subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “various amount of food,” “particular portion” and “suitable sitting.” Spelling errors, including “illustrtae,” “improvment” and “menaged,” also reduce accuracy. Some expressions, such as “better facilities than before,” are broad where more precise language about the plan would be useful. Build a bank of map vocabulary—“counter,” “replaced by,” “along the wall,” and “adjacent to”—and check spelling and natural word combinations when editing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including clauses introduced by “where” and “but,” and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully. For example, “there is the variety of food is available” combines incompatible sentence patterns, while “the first change is there is variety” lacks a clear grammatical structure. There are also problems with articles and agreement in phrases such as “in old cafe” and “there is various amount.” These errors sometimes make the relationships between ideas difficult to understand. Practise building accurate comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, such as “The former staff rooms have been replaced by a takeaway counter and coffee bar,” then check articles and singular/plural agreement.

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