Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14

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 diagram demonstrates two plans that are before and after designs of college cafe .

Overall, in this map we can seen major modernization and expansions during redesign the cafe. we can seen the six major changes into the map after relocate the map.

Firstly, there was no outdoor seating before the map redesigning while we see the outdoor seating that added to the map design. Staff dinning rooms replaced with the take away food and coffee bar that were for public. Look at west side the toilets and recycling bin remains on the same place.

Secondly, serving area all food and drinks changed with hot meal section. The salad bar section added in map after redesgin the cafe that are west side of the map. Althogh, look at the central hall where the tables and chairs are in the mid of the map that are also on same place. After redesigning the cafe the barbecue portion attached at the north-west side but kitchen also at the same place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to summarise the main features of the two maps, noting key additions and alterations such as the introduction of outdoor seating, a barbecue portion, and changes to the serving and dining areas. However, the overview is rather repetitive and confused, with awkward phrasing like "relocate the map". Furthermore, some details are slightly inaccurate or confusingly expressed. It satisfies the basic requirements of Academic Task 1 by reporting several main changes and making general comparisons, but the overall development lacks clarity and precision, placing it solidly in Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response attempts to use cohesive devices such as "Overall", "Firstly", and "Secondly" to structure the report. However, paragraphing is poorly managed, with the introduction and body sentences lumped together awkwardly. There is a lack of clear overall progression, and referencing is frequently confusing or mechanical, such as repeating phrases like "added to the map design" and "on the same place". The logical flow is hindered by abrupt transitions and repetitive sentence starters, leading to a Band 5 score for cohesion and coherence.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, relying heavily on words like "map", "design", "cafe", and "place". There are numerous unnatural word choices and lexical errors, such as "staff dinning rooms", "serving area all food and drinks changed with", and "barbecue portion attached". While the language is minimally adequate to convey basic spatial changes, the limited range and noticeable errors cause frequent hesitation for the reader, fitting the descriptors for Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex or passive constructions are frequently faulty, such as "in this map we can seen major modernization" (tense and voice errors) and "Althogh, look at the central hall where the tables and chairs are in the mid of the map that are also on same place". Punctuation and grammatical errors are frequent, including missing articles and incorrect verb forms (e.g., "dinning", "seen", "redesgin"). These errors cause difficulty for the reader and reflect a Band 5 level of grammatical control.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.