Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-02

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 plans demonstrate a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks at present time. Overall,there is a huge change such as salad bar , coffee barn and a take away food corner.Besides, there is a corner of getting hot meals that was not in past.

Before cafe redesign,there was a kitchen in the north west corner and a serving area of all types of food and drinks. Besides, there was also a staff dinning rooms in between the center position,just right below table and chairs are arrenged for sitting. In addition,there was a bin and toilet also at the south east corner.

After redesign of the cafe ,there is a numerious change in the cafe such as hot meals, take away food ,coffee bar ,salad bar and a barbecue corner with outdoor seating system. Here, serving area corner has been replaced to hotmeals, again the staff dining rooms has been changed to a take away food corner and coffee bar. Moreever,there is a addition of barbecue corner and a outdoor seating arrangements . With others change bin became recyciling bins and the toilets are remain same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main purpose of the plans and give a useful overview of several major changes, including the new salad bar, coffee bar, takeaway area, hot-meal counter and outdoor seating. You also correctly note that the kitchen and toilets remain and that the bin becomes recycling bins. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the staff dining rooms were along the north wall, not “in between the center position,” and the seating area was not “right below” them in the way your description suggests. The new southern doors and the barbecue’s position are not explained clearly. To strengthen the report, describe the layout changes more precisely and distinguish what stayed the same from what was added or replaced.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction and overview are followed by descriptions of the café before and after redesign. This makes the comparison easy to recognise, and linking expressions such as “Before,” “After redesign,” and “In addition” help signal the sequence. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical, with repeated “Besides” and “there was,” while several ideas are crowded into long sentences. The reference in “right below table and chairs” is also difficult to follow. Organise the details by location or by changes and unchanged features, and use clearer links such as “Along the north wall” or “In contrast.” This would make progression smoother and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “north west corner,” “serving area,” “outdoor seating,” and “recycling bins.” This gives you an adequate range for the task, and the reader can generally understand the intended changes. However, several word-choice, spelling and collocation errors reduce precision: “coffee barn” appears to mean “coffee bar,” “staff dinning rooms” is misspelled, and “outdoor seating system” is not a natural phrase here. “Numerious change” and “a addition” also show inaccurate word forms. Aim for accurate, natural expressions rather than adding less familiar wording. Recheck spelling and use consistent terms for the facilities shown in the plans.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons such as “serving area corner has been replaced to hotmeals” and the contrast between the former and current layouts. The main meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. For example, “there was a staff dinning rooms” has a number-agreement problem, while “the toilets are remain same” combines incompatible verb forms. Articles and sentence punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “a outdoor seating arrangements” and the missing spaces after commas. Practise forming accurate past and present descriptions, especially with singular and plural subjects, and use passive forms such as “was replaced by” when describing changes.

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