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 following blueprint/overview of college cafe clearly show the difference, after redesigned it seems to be more spacious and pleasant. As the cafe is redesigned but there are some similarities in structure.Like kitchen and toilets are at same direction as they were before. on other hand the staff dining rooms are converted into a take away food counter and a coffee bar. also a brilliant salad bar is installed beside the entrance of kitchen, and the main attraction of after redesigning is the outdoor sitting facility where number of customes can have their meals, and for that there are too many tables and chairs are installed with a additional barbecue counter for serving. as the cafe is redesigned there services are also updated, now kitchen will only serve hot meals and including all the designed college cafe will surely more spacious and pleasant as compared to before redesigning cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change from staff dining rooms to takeaway and coffee facilities, and note that the kitchen and toilets remain in place. You also mention the new salad bar and outdoor seating, so the response is relevant and includes several key features. However, the overview is not sufficiently precise: saying the café is “more spacious and pleasant” is an unsupported judgement, and the description does not clearly compare the overall layout. Some details are inaccurate or unclear, such as suggesting there are “too many tables” and describing the barbecue as a counter for serving. The recycling bins and the change from a general serving area to hot meals are also worth reporting. The response is one word below the required minimum, and several features remain underdeveloped.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response moves broadly from the overall comparison to changes in particular facilities, and linking expressions such as “on other hand” and “also” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, it is presented as one long paragraph, with no clear separation between an overview and supporting details. The sequence is difficult to follow because several changes are joined together in extended sentences, and transitions such as “as the cafe is redesigned” are repeated without clarifying the relationship between ideas. Punctuation is also inconsistent, including missing spaces after full stops and sentence openings such as “on other hand” and “also” in lowercase. Use distinct paragraphs and group the changes by location or function.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “converted,” “installed,” “counter,” and “outdoor sitting facility.” This gives you a basic range for reporting changes. However, several choices are imprecise or informal for an IELTS map description: “brilliant” expresses an opinion, “too many tables” does not accurately describe the plan, and “customes” is a spelling error. “Outdoor sitting” and “barbecue counter for serving” also do not clearly name the features shown. Repetition of “redesigned” and “spacious and pleasant” limits the range and precision. Aim for neutral, location-specific terms such as “added,” “replaced,” and “outdoor dining area,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas using clauses, for example, “As the cafe is redesigned but there are some similarities in structure,” and “as the cafe is redesigned there services are also updated.” These attempts show some willingness to use more than simple sentences, but the structures are often faulty and make relationships between ideas unclear. There are recurring problems with verb forms and agreement (“blueprint/overview … clearly show,” “after redesigned”), articles and prepositions (“with a additional barbecue”), and sentence boundaries. The opening also contains a fragment-like construction, while “Like kitchen and toilets…” is not a complete sentence. Use a few controlled complex sentences, check subject–verb agreement and articles, and punctuate each complete idea as a sentence.

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