Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-04
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 5.0)
The two maps illustrate the changes in a college cafe after the redesign.
Overall, the cafe increased the outdoor sitting capacity and add some food counters like barbecue, salad bar and coffee bar.
Before redesign, cafe had basic look consist of a kitchen with a serving area. Two staff dining rooms in the middle and toiltet on the corner along with a bin placed near,.
Today, the college cafe changed the whole design significantly by turning into a commercial cafe. A salad bar has been built adjacant to kitchen.
The staff dining room turned dramatically into take away counter and a coffee bar.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the ability to fully develop the task. While the student identifies the main features, such as the addition of food counters and the change in seating, the description is too brief. Key details from the plans, such as the specific layout of the outdoor area or the relocation of the entrance, are omitted. Because the response is 47 words under the limit, the information is not sufficiently extended or supported, leading to a low score for task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organised into short paragraphs, which helps with readability. However, the progression of ideas is limited by the brevity of the text. Cohesive devices are used sparingly, such as 'Overall' and 'Before redesign', but the transitions between sentences are often abrupt. The lack of sufficient length prevents the use of a wider range of cohesive devices, and the overall structure feels underdeveloped rather than logically sequenced.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is adequate for basic communication but lacks the range and precision required for a higher band. There are some errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'toiltet on the corner' (spelling) and 'basic look consist of' (grammatical collocation). The student uses basic terms like 'changed' and 'built', which are functional but do not demonstrate the ability to use less common or more sophisticated lexical items appropriate for describing architectural changes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, including missing articles ('Before redesign, cafe had...'), incorrect verb forms ('add some food counters'), and spelling errors ('toiltet', 'adjacant'). While the meaning is generally clear, the lack of complex sentence structures and the frequency of basic grammatical slips limit the score. To improve, the student should focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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