Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-04

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 map shows that cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.First, cafe before redesign have two staff dining rooms separate the main hall and the right have one small recycling bins room between in main door and toilets. Same uper side have main door of cafe and lower corner have toilets. Kitchen of cafe are situated on left uper side .In kitchen make a serving area of all food and drinks .

After redesign the cafe make a outdoor seating area and also make a barbecue area corner of outdoor seating area and give two door through main hall.In main hall are also make a salad bar before they have not and staff dining rooms convert in take away food and coffee bar.The size of recycling bins room increase and not change in toilets.In kitchen have only serve hot meals because other food and drinks are make separate bars.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to describe the changes between the two cafe plans. While it identifies key features such as the outdoor seating, the salad bar, and the conversion of the staff rooms, the description is often unclear and lacks a logical overview. The information is presented in a fragmented way, and the comparison between the 'before' and 'after' states is sometimes confusing due to grammatical errors. To improve, you should provide a clear introductory summary of the main trends and ensure that the spatial relationships (e.g., 'upper left') are described with greater precision and clarity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into two paragraphs, but the internal flow is weak. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link ideas, making the text feel like a list of observations rather than a coherent report. For example, the transition between describing the kitchen and the new features is abrupt. Referencing is also problematic; phrases like 'before they have not' are unclear and hinder the reader's ability to follow the progression of changes. Using more linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in contrast') would significantly improve the logical flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is limited and repetitive, relying heavily on basic terms like 'make', 'have', and 'room'. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'recycling bins room' and 'lower corner have toilets', which reflect a limited control of collocations and word choice. While the meaning is generally understandable, the lack of variety and precision prevents the response from reaching a higher band. You should aim to use more descriptive verbs and nouns related to architectural changes, such as 'expanded', 'converted', 'installed', or 'relocated'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that affect readability. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'cafe before redesign have'), missing articles (e.g., 'in main hall'), and incorrect word order. The sentence structures are predominantly simple, and attempts at more complex descriptions often result in errors, such as 'before they have not'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after periods. To improve, focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically the use of articles and correct verb tenses when describing past and present states.

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