Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-28
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 maps illustrate the transformation of a college's cafe.At a glance some major changes can be observed as the staff dining rooms are transformed into take away and coffee bar counters respectively.On the other hand the serving point of several food stalls are segregated as prior. The newly transformed cafe shows outdoor sitting and a double access to toilets from outside and inside as well.The salad bar is moved to left far end of the takeaway counter and hot meals just right to the salad bar. A indoor sitting can also be seen.
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 is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely impacts the ability to fully address the task. While you have identified some key features of the redesign, such as the new seating and the repositioning of the salad bar, the description is too brief to provide a comprehensive summary. You have failed to compare the 'before' and 'after' states in sufficient detail, and the lack of length prevents you from developing your ideas or providing a clear, structured overview of the changes. To improve, you must expand on the specific spatial changes and ensure you meet the minimum word count to allow for a full analysis of the visual data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response lacks a clear paragraph structure, which is essential for an IELTS Task 1 report. While there is a basic attempt at an introduction, the subsequent information is presented in a single, dense block. The use of cohesive devices is limited; for example, 'On the other hand' is used, but the overall flow between sentences is disjointed. The progression of ideas is not clearly managed, making it difficult for the reader to follow the spatial changes in the cafe. To improve, you should use separate paragraphs for the introduction, an overview of the main trends, and detailed descriptions of specific areas.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
Your vocabulary is generally functional but lacks the precision and variety required for a higher band score. You use basic terms like 'major changes', 'transformed', and 'moved'. While these are accurate, they are repetitive and do not demonstrate a wide range of lexical items related to describing maps or spatial changes. There are also minor errors in collocation, such as 'left far end' instead of 'the far left end'. To improve, incorporate more specific vocabulary related to layout descriptions, such as 'relocated', 'partitioned', 'adjacent to', or 'situated in the corner'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains several grammatical errors that affect the clarity of your writing. There are issues with article usage ('a indoor sitting', 'the takeaway counter'), and some sentences are awkwardly phrased, such as 'the serving point of several food stalls are segregated'. The sentence structure is relatively simple, and there is a lack of complex grammatical structures. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles, and try to incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence structures to describe the changes more fluently.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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