Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-12

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 plan illustrates the comparision of cafe design before it was restructured and how it looks at present time.

The majority part of cafe is been restructured and modenised and fews areas were remained unchanged such as kitchen area but serving area with kitchen is been replaced with hot meals. At present time, area for food take away and coofee bar is built in place of staff dining rooms. A new salad area is now availabe at the west side of cafe. At the centre of cafe, the area for tables and chairs remain untouched. There was no outdoor area before reconstruction of cafe and now a new barbecure area is built at the south of cafe, it also has seating area for the people. The toilets was remained unchange and bin is converted into recycling bins.

There are few changes has take place at present cafe as comapared to old design.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the visual information by identifying key changes and comparing the before and after states of the college cafe. The student notes the retention of the kitchen and seating area alongside major additions like the barbecue area, salad bar, and recycling bins. However, the development is somewhat limited and repetitive in places, missing a more cohesive overview of the transformation as a whole. According to the Band 5 and 6 descriptors, the task is addressed adequately enough to meet the core requirements, though the reporting lacks depth and clear synthesis of trends.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response has an overall structure consisting of an introduction, body paragraph, and a concluding sentence, though the paragraphs are overly brief and lack sophisticated organisational features. Logical progression is occasionally disrupted by abrupt transitions and repetitive structuring, such as starting multiple sentences with 'At present time' or similar phrasing. Cohesive devices are used mechanically rather than flexibly. Referencing is generally clear, but paragraphing could be used more purposefully to separate different functional areas of the cafe layout. This aligns best with the Band 5 descriptors for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common topic-specific items such as 'restructured', 'modernised', 'recycling bins', and 'barbecue area'. However, there are notable spelling errors and awkward lexical choices throughout the text, including 'comparision' instead of 'comparison', 'fews areas', 'coofee bar', and 'availabe'. These errors indicate a limited control of word formation and spelling, although communication is not severely impeded. This performance corresponds to a solid Band 5 level for lexical resource.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as passive voice constructions ('is been restructured') and compound sentences. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in verb forms and subject-verb agreement, including 'The majority part of cafe is been restructured', 'fews areas were remained', 'The toilets was remained unchange', and 'There are few changes has take place'. These frequent errors frequently distract the reader and limit the control over complex grammatical structures, placing the response firmly at Band 5.

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

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