Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-30

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 map shows the redevelopment of college cafe before redesign and after.

Overall, significant changed occured on outside of the cafe as it contains barbecue setting and outdoor seating. While kitchen area, toilets, indoor sitting area and bin area remained same.

Before redesigning, main enterance was on north-east coner and in the center area, indoor seating was there. From the main enterance there were two rooms present which were staff dinning area. In the coner of the east-west, toilets were there and beside it, the bin placement. At the north south of the corner kitchen area was present and they had the serving counter which served all food and drink.

Now, after redesigning, main things like enterance, bin placement, toilets, indoor setting and the kitchen remains the same, only one major changed occur inside indoor area which is converitng of staff dinning rooms into two rooms which is take-away food and coffee bar. Addition of sald bar also took place next to kitchen. Major changed occured by the additioning of outdoor seating in which the barbecue area. More enterance doors are added on the outside for the conveniance for costumers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main transformation: the former staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee areas, a salad bar is added, and outdoor seating with a barbecue appears. You also note that the kitchen, toilets and central seating remain. These are relevant features and give the response a clear overall comparison. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the entrance is on the upper-right/east wall, not the “north-east corner” as a precise location, and the bin is on the eastern wall rather than beside the toilets. The serving counter is relabelled for hot meals, a change you omit, and the new southern doors and outdoor tables could be described more precisely. The overview is useful, but some key changes are less fully reported than others.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear four-part structure: an introduction, an overview, a description of the former layout and a description of the current one. This makes the comparison easy to follow, and time markers such as “Before redesigning” and “Now” help signal the stages. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “While kitchen area, toilets, indoor sitting area and bin area remained same” is a fragment, and “In the coner of the east-west” does not clearly locate the toilets and bin. The final paragraph also combines several changes in a long sequence, making the relationship between the new doors, outdoor seating and barbecue less clear. Use complete overview sentences and group details by location or type of change.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “serving counter,” “staff dining area,” “take-away food” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can generally understand the changes. There is some attempt to vary wording, but several choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “main things,” “bin placement,” “indoor setting” and “additioning.” Spelling errors—including “enterance,” “coner,” “dinning” and “conveniance”—also reduce accuracy and polish. Some phrases, such as “in the coner of the east-west,” do not communicate a clear location. Aim for precise plan terms such as “eastern wall,” “central seating area” and “was converted into,” and check spelling carefully. This would make the vocabulary more reliable and appropriate for describing a layout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including the contrast in “While kitchen area… remained same” and the relative clause “which served all food and drink.” However, some sentence structures are incomplete or faulty, and errors sometimes make relationships difficult to follow. For example, “While kitchen area… remained same” is a dependent clause without a main clause, while “main things… remains the same” has a subject–verb agreement error and lacks articles. Tense and form are also inconsistent in “only one major changed occur” and “the kitchen remains.” Use past forms consistently to describe the redesign, and check articles, plurals and agreement. Shorter, complete sentences would improve control while you practise combining ideas accurately.

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