Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-16
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 two pictures demonstrate the plans of a College Cafe before and after it was redesigned.
Overall we see that the redesign had included a lot of new services than before for example Outdoor seating was a new addition along with barbecue and salad bar.
There was also some changes to the existing rooms withen the Cafe. The Staff dining rooms were seperated into two rooms in the new design, one of which was the take away food and the other was the Coffee bar. The serving area were all food and drinks were served changed to hot meals . There was also Recycling bins installed in contrast to one bin before.
The were also a number of changes like introducing the outdoor seating which was earlier empty and also a barbecue near to it. A Salad bar was also newly made withen the Cafe. The areas like kitchen and the toilets did not recieve any changes.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by describing the main changes between the two plans of the college café. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph ('Overall we see that the redesign had included a lot of new services...'), but it is somewhat simplistic. Key features are reported, such as the addition of outdoor seating, a barbecue, a salad bar, and recycling bins, alongside alterations to the former staff dining rooms and the serving area. However, some descriptions are repetitive (e.g., mentioning the outdoor seating multiple times across paragraphs) and the development of ideas lacks precision. While the core features are touched upon, the response sits at a Band 5.5 to 6.0 level due to under-developed comparisons and repetitive detailing.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organised into four paragraphs, providing a basic structure with an introduction, overview, and body details. However, logical progression is hindered by repetition, particularly regarding the outdoor seating area, which is mentioned in both paragraph two and paragraph four. Cohesive devices are basic and sometimes faulty or missing (e.g., missing commas in introductory clauses like 'Overall we see...'). Referencing is occasionally unclear, and paragraphing is underdeveloped since body points are fragmented rather than clearly grouped by location or theme. This places the performance firmly in the Band 5.0 range.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate to convey the basic message, featuring terms like 'redesigned', 'addition', 'barbecue', and 'recycling bins'. However, the range is quite limited and repetitive. There are noticeable word choice and spelling errors, such as 'withen' instead of 'within', 'seperated' instead of 'separated', and 'recieve' instead of 'receive'. The phrase 'The serving area were all food and drinks were served changed to hot meals' contains grammatical and lexical awkwardness. Because the vocabulary errors are noticeable and strain the reading process slightly, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and some complex sentence forms, though complex structures often contain errors. Examples include 'The two pictures demonstrate the plans of a College Cafe before and after it was redesigned' and 'The were also a number of changes like introducing the outdoor seating...'. There are several grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The were also a number of changes'), spelling mistakes, and missing punctuation. Errors occur frequently across sentences, though they do not completely impede overall communication, supporting a Band 5.0 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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