Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-03

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 illustrate a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Overall, the new design of cafe is more advance then the old structure of cafe.

Firstly, the serving area convert into hot meals, Staff dining rooms develop in two rooms, Take away food and coffee bar.

In tables and chairs area, a new salad bar open now. In new design front of toilets there is a recycling bins.

New structure of cafe have some outside area where we hold some outside party's, moreover, we have a barbecue facility there.

We also have some enter and exiti doors. In todays cafe design have more develop structure then the old one. In new cafe plan, we have food take away system, where the people take away food to there college and class. New structure have more area's, like different types of bar's, outside seating area is big advantage of new design.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change from an indoor café to a redesigned space, mentioning the hot-meal counter, salad bar, recycling bins, outdoor seating and barbecue. However, several details are inaccurate or unclear: the staff dining rooms were replaced by takeaway and coffee-bar sections, rather than “develop[ing]” into them, and the new seating is outside along the southern side, not simply an unspecified party area. The overview that the café is “more advance” is vague and evaluative; summarise the key spatial changes instead. The response also falls 8 words short of the 150-word minimum; the 12 words copied from the task prompt are excluded. Add accurate comparisons and explain where the main new facilities are located.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence, beginning with an overview and then listing changes, and connectors such as “Firstly” and “moreover” show an attempt to link ideas. However, the progression is difficult to follow because several changes are compressed into one sentence, while the final sentences repeat the general claim that the new design is more developed. Group information by location or by what was removed and added—for example, describe the north side, the western wall and the new southern outdoor area in separate stages. Some linking is also imprecise: “In tables and chairs area” does not clearly connect the salad bar to its position, and “front of toilets” leaves the recycling bins’ location uncertain. Clearer paragraphing and more precise references would make the comparison easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “serving area,” “hot meals,” “salad bar,” “recycling bins” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can recognise several features of the plans. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which makes parts of the description unclear. “More advance” is not a natural way to describe a redesigned layout; “more modern” or “more extensively equipped” would be clearer. “Outside party’s” is informal and does not accurately describe the seating area, while “different types of bar’s” is vague and uses an incorrect plural form. Aim for precise spatial vocabulary such as “along the western wall,” “replaced by” and “opens onto,” and avoid repeating “new structure” and “design.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, including a sentence linked with “moreover,” but grammatical control is inconsistent. Errors in verb forms and agreement occur in phrases such as “the serving area convert,” “a new salad bar open,” and “new structure … have.” Articles and plural forms are also unreliable, as in “a recycling bins” and “some enter and exiti doors.” The sentence beginning “In todays cafe design have” lacks a clear subject, making the meaning harder to follow. Most ideas can still be understood, but these recurring errors and the limited range of reliably controlled structures fit this level. Practise complete subject–verb sentences and accurate past-versus-present forms when comparing the two plans.

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

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