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 map illustrated a version of college cafe before and after redesigned.

Overall Cafe before redesign had a specific facilities , After being updated it has added more options.

However cafe before updated there were only two section, On the upper left side was arranged for kitchen area and Serving area(all foods and drinks)While the lowest areas had few subcategories the large portion were availbale for Tables and Chairs and next to there was two rooms available for staff dinning and at lowest the right corner of same portion Tiolets and bin were there .

New look providing advancement in cafe kitchen remain same and serving area replaced hotmeals In contrast the tables and chairs shrink in size by adding Salad baar on right side. staff dining room converted in take away food or cofee bar respectively ,While bin change in recyling and toilets reamain same .

Meanwhile outdoor seating there are five tables for family and rignt corner give for Barbecue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main change from staff dining rooms to takeaway and coffee facilities, note that the kitchen and toilets remain, and mention the new outdoor seating and barbecue. These are relevant features and give the reader a general sense of the redesign. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the salad bar is on the western wall, not the right side, and the outdoor area has four tables rather than five. The overview that the café has “added more options” is relevant but broad; it would be stronger if it identified the key spatial changes, especially the new southern access and outdoor area. Some comparisons, such as the change to the serving counter, are included but not fully explained.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall sequence: it introduces the plans, describes the former layout, and then turns to the current café. This helps the reader follow the comparison. However, progression within the paragraphs is uneven, and several long sentences combine multiple locations without clear boundaries. For example, the sentence beginning “However cafe before updated” moves from the kitchen to seating, staff rooms, toilets and the bin in one chain. Linking words such as “However,” “In contrast” and “Meanwhile” are used, but sometimes do not express the relationship precisely. Organise the description into clearer paragraphs and group features by area or by what changed and what stayed the same; use explicit references such as “along the north wall” to make connections easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “serving area,” “staff dining room,” “recycling” and “outdoor seating,” and you attempt to describe changes with terms such as “replaced” and “converted.” This gives you a minimally adequate range for the map. However, spelling errors and imprecise or unnatural phrases are noticeable, including “availbale,” “dinning,” “Tiolets,” “Salad baar” and “rignt corner.” Phrases such as “specific facilities” and “added more options” are also vague, while “shrink in size” is not clearly supported by the plan. Check spelling carefully and choose precise location and change vocabulary, such as “along the western wall” or “was replaced by,” rather than relying on broad wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, for example, “staff dining room converted in take away food or cofee bar respectively,” so there is some effort to vary sentence structure. However, control is limited: several sentences lack articles or complete verb structures, and punctuation often makes the relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “The map illustrated a version of college cafe before and after redesigned” and “kitchen remain same,” where the verb forms and sentence construction are faulty. Subject–verb agreement and tense are also inconsistent, as in “there were only two section” and “the lowest areas had.” Use a consistent past tense for the former plan and present tense for the current one, and build shorter, complete sentences with clear subjects and verbs.

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