Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-08

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 Architectural plan depicts modification of college cafe plan with its previously designed look.

overall, the newly designed cafe look is significantly changed with respect to old designed cafe, here in new designed cafe additional area like: barbecue, outdoor seating , salad bar introduced.

In the north west area of previously designed cafe's serving area turns to hot meals area where as staff dinning rooms into take away food and coffee bar converted. Moreover, outdoor seating, barbecue, salad bar area added in newly designed cafe which is making it different than the old one.

The staff dinning rooms where mold to take away food & coffee bar. Also, the bin area enlarged in the newly designed cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the task achievement. While you have identified some of the main features, such as the addition of the barbecue and salad bar, the description is quite brief and lacks a detailed overview of the spatial changes. The report is underdeveloped, and several areas of the cafe are not described with sufficient clarity or detail. To improve, you must ensure you reach the word count by providing a more comprehensive analysis of the changes, including specific locations and dimensions where applicable, and ensuring all parts of the prompt are addressed thoroughly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is organized into short paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'Also', but the transitions between sentences feel repetitive and lack variety. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'The staff dinning rooms where mold to take away food', which is confusing. To improve, focus on using a wider range of linking words and ensure that your sentences flow logically from one point to the next without relying on simple, repetitive structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive. You frequently use basic phrases like 'newly designed cafe' and 'old designed cafe'. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'mold to' instead of 'converted into' or 'transformed into'. The use of 'Architectural plan' is slightly inaccurate in this context, as 'floor plan' or 'layout' would be more appropriate. To achieve a higher band score, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to describing changes, such as 'relocated', 'expanded', 'replaced', or 'integrated'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains several grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. For example, 'The Architectural plan depicts modification of college cafe plan' lacks necessary articles. The sentence 'The staff dinning rooms where mold to take away food' contains a significant error in verb usage ('mold' instead of 'molded' or 'converted'). There is a lack of complex sentence structures, and the punctuation is inconsistent. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement, the correct use of articles, and attempting more complex sentence structures like relative clauses or passive voice constructions to describe the changes.

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

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