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 given plan illustrates how the college cafe look like when it is not redesigned and how its look when it is redesigned, there they show the difference.

Overall, the main difference is that, in front of the main entrance staff dining rooms is turned into coffee bar and take away food. Nowadays, salad bar is made which is not present before. Before the redesigned there is no outdoor seating while outdoor seating is now existing.

Before the cafe redesign, In front of the main entrance, there is two staff dining rooms ,at uper left side there is kitchen and serving area.In the hall, there are many tables and chairs ,bin also available there. Toilets also exists there.

When college cafe redesign, they form the coffee bar and take away food. Kitchen is present is same location and hot meals are made.In addition, salad bar is also produced, tables and chairs are present is same location, toilets are in same location. Furthermore, two door for the outdoor seating are here.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main changes: the former staff dining rooms become a takeaway-food area and coffee bar, a salad bar is added, and outdoor seating appears. You also correctly note that the kitchen, central tables and chairs, and toilets remain in the same general locations. This gives a relevant overview and covers the before-and-after comparison. However, some important details are only briefly mentioned or omitted: the hot-meals counter replaces the former serving area, recycling bins replace the single bin, and the new outdoor area includes tables and a barbecue. The description of the entrance and the position of the staff rooms is also unclear. Selecting and explaining these features more precisely would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the cafe before and after the redesign. This helps the reader follow the basic comparison, and linking phrases such as “Overall,” “In addition,” and “Furthermore” show an attempt to connect information. However, some connections are mechanical or unclear, and the repeated use of “same location” makes the later paragraph feel like a list rather than a developed comparison. The phrase “When college cafe redesign” also disrupts the transition between stages. Use clearer time markers such as “Before the redesign” and “In the redesigned cafe,” and group related changes together so the progression is smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “staff dining rooms,” “serving area,” “salad bar,” and “outdoor seating.” These terms help communicate the main features, and the reader can generally understand the intended comparisons. However, the range is limited and some wording is imprecise or unnatural, such as “how the college cafe look like,” “outdoor seating is now existing,” and “salad bar is also produced.” There are also spelling errors, including “uper,” and repeated general words such as “present” and “there.” Choose more precise verbs and collocations for changes and locations, and check spelling to make the description clearer and more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, particularly with verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction. For example, “how the college cafe look like” needs a correctly formed verb phrase, while “there is two staff dining rooms” has a subject–verb agreement error. In “When college cafe redesign, they form the coffee bar,” the time clause and verb forms are incomplete or incorrectly constructed. Punctuation is also uneven, with missing spaces and extra spaces before commas. Practise accurate past and present forms when comparing the plans, and build longer sentences around clear subjects and verbs.

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