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 diagram illustrate the layout of a college cafe early of disignation and it new looks.

Overall, the cafe is almost changed from its privious desiegn. there so many replacements ans alters accured, includs the addition of seating area and a barbecue. and repacement of serving area to hot meal.

According to old design, the cafe cantained a kitchen on its left corner of the north, while a serving located below the kitchen. furthemore, two dining room on the middle and tables and chairs were in the front of the rooms. A bin and toillets located on the west south corner.

The new designed cafe, the kitchen and toillets are on the same points. serving area has replaced by hotmeals, and the rooms are specified fo take away food and coffee bar. on the south out side the seating system and a barbecue are added new to the modern cafe.moreover, the chairs and table inside of cafe still there while, bin changed to tecyclebin.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main transformation: the former staff rooms become takeaway and coffee facilities, and outdoor seating with a barbecue is added. You also note that the kitchen, toilets and central tables remain, and that the serving counter changes to hot meals. These are relevant comparisons and provide a clear overall picture. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the bin is on the eastern wall, not the “west south corner,” and the new salad bar on the western wall is omitted. The overview that the café is “almost changed” is also too broad, since several features remain in the same positions. More precise descriptions of the layout and a fuller account of the western side would make the report more complete and better developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by a paragraph on the old layout and one on the redesigned café. This gives the reader a basic chronological comparison, and linking expressions such as “According to old design” and “moreover” help connect points. However, progression within sentences is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in the overview and the final paragraph, where several changes are joined together without clear separation. Some transitions are mechanical, and references such as “the rooms” and “the same points” are not fully precise. Organise the details by location or by what stayed and what changed, and use clearer sentence boundaries and linking phrases to make the comparisons easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “layout,” “serving area,” “seating area,” “barbecue” and “replaced,” so the reader can understand the general changes. However, the range is limited and several spelling and word-choice errors make the description less clear, for example “disignation,” “privious,” “alters,” “toillets” and “tecyclebin.” Some expressions are also unnatural, such as “the cafe is almost changed” and “the seating system.” Use accurate plan vocabulary and check spelling carefully; terms such as “redesigned,” “facilities,” “outdoor seating” and “recycling bins” would describe the features more precisely. Greater control of collocations would help your meaning come across more smoothly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, including “the kitchen and toillets are on the same points” and “the rooms are specified fo take away food and coffee bar.” However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and punctuation sometimes make the relationships between features unclear. For example, “The diagram illustrate” needs subject–verb agreement, while “a serving located below the kitchen” is missing a verb and article. Several sentences also run together after full stops or commas, as in the final paragraph. Practise building accurate basic sentences first, then combine them with controlled clauses using “while” or “whereas.” Check each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.