Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-04

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 diagram illustrates two maps before and after the cafe redesign.

Overall, cafe have changed significantly with redesign. Many things has been added and demoshiled with new design. Which removed staff dining rooms and built take away food and coffee bar.

At first, before redesign cafe kitchen and serving area (all food and drink) was set on same room. In front of serving area, tables and chairs had located and on side staff dining rooms was in corner of the room spit into two room. In far side of staff dining rooms there is front door and in the side of door bin has been set. On the corner of room there is a toilet for guest and staff. Before cafe redesign room were very much limited and not much space.

At second, after the redesign or today cafe have changed with new rooms and new outdoor feature. Kitchen was same as before but serving area was repalce with hot meals. The staff dining rooms spit into two rooms take away food and coffee bar. Three door has been added in cafe with two door in front of tables and chairs leading to outdoor seating which was not been there before the design. on front of outdoor seating there is new barbecue. Bin upated with new recycling bins but in same as before. toilets also been there same as before. Many things have changed and something didnot change. And front side of hot meal there is new salad bar for the customer.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation: the staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee facilities, the serving counter changes to hot meals, and outdoor seating with a barbecue is added. You also note that the kitchen and toilets remain and that the bin becomes recycling bins. This covers the key changes and gives a relevant overview, with most details matching the plans. However, some spatial descriptions are unclear or inaccurate: the staff rooms are along the top wall, not “in corner,” and the outdoor seating is south of the café rather than “in front” of it. The claim that three doors were added is also unsupported; the plan shows two new southern doors. More precise location reporting and fuller comparison of the new salad bar would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by separate descriptions of the café before and after the redesign. This makes the broad sequence easy to follow, and phrases such as “Before redesign” and “after the redesign” help orient the reader. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes disrupted by unclear references and repetitive conclusions, such as “Many things have changed and something didnot change.” Linking is also occasionally mechanical, particularly “At first” and “At second,” and the long final paragraph combines several changes without a clear order. Grouping features by location or by what changed and stayed the same, and using clearer transitions, would make the account more cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “serving area,” “staff dining rooms,” “outdoor seating,” and “recycling bins,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, the range and control are limited by repeated general wording such as “changed” and “things,” as well as inaccurate or misspelled forms including “demoshiled,” “repalce,” and “upated.” Some expressions are not natural for describing a plan: “in front of serving area” and “front side of hot meal” make locations difficult to interpret. Choose precise spatial language and check spelling and word forms. For example, “along the western wall” or “to the south of the café” would describe positions more clearly than “on side” or “in front.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, including a contrast between what changed and what remained, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, especially with subject–verb agreement, articles, tense, and sentence boundaries. Examples include “cafe have changed,” “Many things has been added,” and “Kitchen was same as before”; these need forms such as “the café has changed,” “many things have been added,” and “the kitchen was the same.” The fragment “Which removed staff dining rooms…” should be joined to a complete sentence. There are also errors in constructions such as “Three door has been added” and “toilets also been there.” Practise accurate past-tense descriptions and complete sentence patterns before adding complexity.

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