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)

Hi, My names is Jose Nicolas Carlos and now I'm gonna summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons on the before and after cafe.

the kitchen and the serving area of all foods and beverages are in one room they did not change the food services room as you compared it, only the name that they change it.

in the new cafe design they added a salad bar section in the shop and they not also change the placing of tables and chairs inside the shop even toilet it's still in the same place corner near at the bin or recycle bins.

the rooms of staff dining was gone and replaced it by take away food on the right room and they added a new coffee shop in the 2nd room

they also expand the place they're now serving barbecue in the outside of the cafe and they did put some mini chairs and tables for the costumer who wants to eat their barbecue cafe

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the new salad bar, the replacement of the staff dining rooms with takeaway and coffee facilities, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. You also correctly note that the toilets and central tables remain. However, the account is only partly complete: there is no clear overview of the main transformation, and some details are inaccurate or unclear. The kitchen remains, but the serving counter is relabelled “Hot meals,” rather than the food-services room simply keeping the same function. You also omit the recycling bins and the two new southern doors, and describe the outdoor tables and chairs as “mini.” A concise overview and more precise reporting of the changes would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has some organisation: it moves from the kitchen and serving area to the interior changes, then to the outdoor facilities. This gives the reader a basic sense of the before-and-after comparison. However, the ideas are presented as separate, mostly unconnected paragraphs, and there is no introductory overview to establish the main changes. Linking phrases such as “in the new cafe design” and “they also” are repetitive or conversational, while references such as “the 2nd room” are not fully clear. Grouping unchanged features together and then describing the new facilities, with more precise transitions such as “By contrast” or “In addition,” would create clearer progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for the plan, including “salad bar,” “take away food,” “tables and chairs,” and “recycle bins,” so the main ideas can generally be understood. However, the range is limited and several choices are informal or imprecise for an academic description. “Shop” and “coffee shop” do not accurately describe the café sections, while “mini chairs and tables” is an unsupported description of the outdoor furniture. Phrases such as “food services room” and “barbecue cafe” are also awkward or unclear. Use consistent plan terminology, such as “counter,” “seating area,” and “outdoor dining area,” and choose verbs like “was replaced by” or “was added” to describe changes precisely.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences, but control is uneven, and errors in basic sentence construction and agreement are frequent enough to affect clarity. For example, “My names is” has incorrect agreement, while “they did not change the food services room as you compared it” is difficult to interpret because the clause structure is faulty. In “they not also change the placing,” the auxiliary and verb form are incorrect, and “the rooms of staff dining was gone” has a subject–verb agreement problem. Most descriptions rely on simple clauses, with limited accurate use of complex structures. Practise forming clear passive comparisons, such as “The staff dining rooms were replaced by…,” and check verb forms, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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