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 map illustrate a college cafe earlier it was redesigned and it looks today.
overall, it is clearly seen that there are various changes took place all part of the cafe. It is clear that staff dining rooms have become more change of a college cafe today.
To begin with,instead of staff dining rooms take away food and coffee bar has newly constructed in today's cafe. There was serving area located in Northwest which is converted into Hot meals in today's cafe
proving further, the barbecue, salad bar as well as outdoor seating area is totally demolished in today. Moreover, the kitchen, table and chairs area has remain stable in both period . The recycling bin has expanded in today cafe.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarise the main features of the two maps comparing the college cafe before and after redesign. However, the student fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, reaching only 121 words, which significantly impacts task completion. While some key changes are mentioned, such as the addition of a takeaway food and coffee bar and the removal of the barbecue and salad bar, the overview is weak and lacks a comprehensive selection of features. The details are somewhat repetitive and under-developed, particularly regarding spatial relationships and the comparison of the kitchen and seating areas. Based on these limitations, the response falls under Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is organized into basic paragraphs, starting with an introduction followed by body details. However, overall progression is hindered by poor referencing and mechanical cohesive devices. Phrases like 'proving further' are misused, and transitions feel disjointed. Referencing is unclear in places, such as 'how it looks today' repeated awkwardly and vague mentions like 'in both period'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the logical flow between sentences is frequently disrupted by grammar and vocabulary errors, limiting the response to a Band 5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic, repetitive, and restricted to simple terms like 'cafe', 'food', 'coffee', and 'table and chairs'. There are notable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'The map illustrate' instead of 'The maps illustrate', 'earlier it was redesigned' instead of 'before it was redesigned', and 'staff dining rooms have become more change'. Less common lexical items are rarely attempted successfully, and errors occasionally cause strain for the reader, placing this criterion at Band 5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most complex attempts contain severe errors or awkward phrasing, such as 'instead of staff dining rooms take away food and coffee bar has newly constructed'. There are frequent errors in subject-verb agreement ('The map illustrate', 'table and chairs area has remain'), tense usage, and prepositions ('in today', 'in both period'). These persistent errors can cause difficulty for the reader and prevent the score from rising above Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0 based on general performance.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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