Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-11-14

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 plans shows the before and after redesigning of a college cafe. As we can see many changes have been made in the design.

Overall, the indoor sitting area looks almost similar to the prior one. In addition a Barbecue and outdoor seating has been introduced.

It is evident that staff dining rooms got replaced by take away food and coffee bar

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the plans as a before-and-after redesign and give two relevant overview points: the indoor seating area is broadly similar, while outdoor seating and a barbecue have been added; you also note that the staff dining rooms became takeaway and coffee facilities. However, the response reports very few of the main changes and gives almost no specific detail about the layout. For example, it omits the hot-meals counter, salad bar, recycling bins, and new southern doors, and does not mention that the toilets remain in place. The overview is therefore only minimally supported. The response is also substantially below the required 150 words, leaving too little space to summarise and compare the plans adequately. Describe the key changes by location and include the important features that stayed the same.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, understandable order: it introduces the plans, gives an overall comparison, and then mentions the replacement of the staff dining rooms. The linking phrases “Overall” and “In addition” help signal the overview, and the ideas are generally easy to follow. However, the response is too brief to establish a clear progression through the main features, and the final sentence feels like an isolated additional point rather than part of a developed comparison. The opening and overview also repeat the general idea that the plans show a redesign without guiding the reader through the changes. Organise the report into an introduction, a concise overview, and detail paragraphs grouped by areas of the café; use clear references such as “along the north wall” to connect each change.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “redesigning,” “indoor sitting area,” “staff dining rooms,” “take away food,” and “outdoor seating.” These choices make the general subject clear, and “replaced” is useful for describing a change. However, the range is limited because only a few features are named, and some expressions are imprecise or awkward for an IELTS report. “Indoor sitting area” is less natural than “indoor seating area,” while “many changes have been made in the design” is vague and does not identify the changes. Use more precise plan vocabulary, such as “counter,” “western wall,” and “southern entrance,” and name the facilities shown rather than relying on general phrases. This would make the description more informative and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes simple statements and an attempt at a more complex sentence beginning “As we can see,” so there is some variety in sentence form. Most of the intended meaning remains understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven in several short sentences. In “The given plans shows,” the plural subject requires “show”; “a Barbecue and outdoor seating has been introduced” has a plural subject and needs “have been introduced”; and “staff dining rooms got replaced” would be more appropriately expressed as “were replaced” in a formal report. The final sentence also lacks a full stop. These errors are noticeable even though they do not prevent the reader from understanding the main points. Check subject–verb agreement, use consistent past-tense forms for changes, and proofread punctuation.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.