Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-09

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 5.0)

The given design shows the college canteen after it was updated and how it looks now.

Cafe design before and now.

In the old design of the college cafe, when we enter the main door, the center is two rooms, which are staff dining rooms, and also two tables and chairs. And the lift corner is for the cafe toilets. At the end are the kitchen and serving area to serve all food to customers.

The new design is something is updated and add more some things in interior. The main door is the same as the old layout. At the center, two rooms are converted to one for takeaway food and another for the coffee bar. In center of cafe arrange chairs and tables. Als add a salad bar on the front wall. Kitchen are divide in to parts one for kitchen and another for Hot meals. The toilts in left corner.Outdoor add seating area, manage tables and add a barbecue stoll.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main purpose of the plans and report several important changes, including the conversion of the former staff rooms into takeaway and coffee areas, the addition of a salad bar, and new outdoor seating with a barbecue. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: the toilets are in the bottom-right corner, not the “left corner,” and the kitchen is not divided into two parts; the hot-meals counter replaces the former serving area. The description of the original layout is also confusing, particularly “the center is two rooms” and “two tables and chairs.” Include a concise overview of the biggest changes and describe positions more precisely to make the comparison more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows a broadly sensible before-and-after order, and phrases such as “In the old design” and “The new design” help distinguish the two plans. However, the organisation is weakened by the separate, fragmentary heading “Cafe design before and now” and by long strings of details joined with “and.” The progression within each paragraph is not always clear: for example, the old-layout description moves from the entrance to the centre, then the toilets, and then “the end” without precise spatial links. Use separate, clearly developed paragraphs for the original and current layouts, and connect features with accurate location language such as “along the northern wall” or “in the south-west.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant plan vocabulary, including “staff dining rooms,” “takeaway food,” “coffee bar,” “salad bar,” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can recognise several features. However, the range is limited and some word choices or spellings make the description difficult to interpret. “Lift corner” appears to be an inaccurate description of a location, while “barbecue stoll” is unclear; “updated and add more some things” is also imprecise. Spelling errors such as “toilts” and “Als” further reduce control. Build a more precise set of terms for describing plans, including “counter,” “entrance,” “southern wall,” and “adjacent to,” and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates a basic comparison, but grammatical errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between features unclear. Examples include “The new design is something is updated,” “Kitchen are divide in to parts,” and “In center of cafe arrange chairs and tables.” These show problems with sentence construction, verb forms, agreement, and articles. Some sentences are also fragments or joined awkwardly, as in “And the lift corner is for the cafe toilets.” Use complete subject–verb sentences and practise simple past forms for the former plan and present forms for the current one. For example, write “The staff dining rooms were replaced by a takeaway area and a coffee bar,” then check articles, plurals, and punctuation.

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