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.

The plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Before redesigning the cafe its hall was cunjusted due to the staff dining room which was taking so much space .but also it was good ,obviously the staff memebers also need seperate room for them selves , but as we know the cafe is for the students so we must focuse on thier prioriteis .

so in the newly designed cafe they made a lot of changes like on far left corner there is a kitchen which is designed to serve hot meals only .before it was used for all the food itmems hot ,cold also bavriges so it creates a mess on that window.Moreover they redesigned the staff room ,divide it into half and make two chambers , one for take away meals and the other for the coffe bar ,which is quit impressive . They also make a new salad bar on the most left wall of the cafe. they replaced the bin with a recycle bin and toilets same as before on the right most corner beside the recycle bin.Moreover they made two more major changes,they added two more doors and also an outdoor seating arrangment along with a barbecue bar which looks quit decent. so yeah the new design of the cafe is far more spacious ,adoring and decent

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the new hot-meals counter, takeaway and coffee-bar sections, salad bar, recycling bins, and outdoor seating with a barbecue. You also note that the toilets remain in the same corner, giving the reader a useful comparison. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the staff dining rooms were replaced by two adjoining service sections, rather than divided into two chambers, and the new doors are on the southern wall, not simply additional doors without a location. The overview that the café is “far more spacious” is not clearly supported by the plan. To strengthen the response, describe the main spatial changes more precisely and avoid personal opinions about whether the design is “impressive” or “decent”.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows a broadly sensible order, moving from the former layout to changes in the redesigned café, and linking phrases such as “Moreover” help signal additions. However, it is presented as one long paragraph, and the progression is sometimes difficult to follow because several changes are packed into long sentences. The opening discussion of whether staff need a separate room also interrupts the description of the plans. Some connections are unclear, particularly “they redesigned the staff room, divide it into half,” which does not accurately explain the change. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and the main details, group related changes by location, and use linking words selectively so that each comparison is easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “kitchen,” “hot meals,” “salad bar,” “recycle bin,” and “outdoor seating.” There are also attempts at more descriptive language, such as “spacious.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or informal choices are noticeable, including “memebers,” “prioriteis,” “coffe,” “quit,” and “adoring.” Phrases such as “barbecue bar” and “the most left wall” are not natural or precise for this task, while “so yeah” is too conversational for an IELTS report. Aim for accurate, neutral terms such as “barbecue area,” “western wall,” and “redesigned café,” and check spelling carefully. This would make the description clearer and more appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex sentences, for example, “Before redesigning the cafe…” and the sentence beginning “Moreover they redesigned…,” but control is inconsistent. Some sentences contain several clauses joined without clear punctuation, as in “they added two more doors and also an outdoor seating arrangment along with a barbecue bar which looks quit decent.” Verb forms and sentence construction also need attention: “they redesigned the staff room, divide it into half and make two chambers” shifts tense and does not form a consistent sequence. There are errors with articles and sentence boundaries, including the lowercase starts after full stops and the fragment-like opening “but also it was good.” Use past-tense verbs consistently to report the changes, and divide long sentences into shorter, complete statements.

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