Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17
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 plans below demonstrate a collage cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now. Overall, staff dining rooms replaced by take away food and coffee bar,toilets remains same,bin changed into recycling bins,serving area ( all food and drinks ),salad bar and barbecue are added in same side. Expand outdoor seatting area and tables and chairs area remains same.
Before cafe redesign kitchan and serving area (all food and drinks ) was in same room, toilets was in southeast corner, bin was near to the toilets. Staff dining rooms about center top side and tables and chairs was in the centre and their was many spaces.
Cafe today, serving area replaced by hot meals,bin is changed by recycling bins,staff dinig rooms replaced by take away food and coffee bar. Barbecue area and salad bar are added, expand outdoor seating area and toilets and tables and chairs areas remains same.
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 student attempts to address the task by comparing the two maps of the college cafe. An overall trend or summary is attempted in the introduction, mentioning major changes such as the staff dining rooms being replaced by a takeaway food area and coffee bar. However, the response is barely at the minimum word count and lacks full development. Several features are mentioned, but descriptions are fragmented and lack cohesive grouping. For instance, the mention of the barbecue and salad bar is rushed, and spatial relationships are sometimes vague or poorly explained. While the student identifies several key changes, the lack of well-developed comparisons and a more structured overview keeps this response at a Band 5.0 level.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response shows some basic organization by separating the introduction, the previous layout, and the current layout into short paragraphs. However, logical progression is weak due to the lack of appropriate cohesive devices and poor sentence linking. Phrases like 'Before cafe redesign kitchan' and 'Cafe today, serving area replaced' are disjointed and rely on crude comma splices rather than proper transitional markers. Paragraphing is attempted, but individual paragraphs consist of loose, disconnected fragments rather than coherent thematic discussions. Pronoun referencing and substitution are largely absent, making the flow choppy and difficult to follow. These issues align with a Band 5.0 score for Coherence and Cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates a limited but minimally adequate vocabulary for describing a plan, using words such as 'redesigned', 'serving area', 'toilets', and 'recycling bins'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors throughout the text, including 'collage' instead of 'college', 'kitchan' instead of 'kitchen', and 'dinig' instead of 'dining'. Word choice is frequently awkward or unidiomatic, such as 'staff dining rooms about center top side'. The range of vocabulary is narrow and repetitive, relying heavily on direct lifting of terms from the prompt and visual data. Due to the frequent lexical errors and lack of sophisticated phrasing, a band score of 5.0 is appropriate.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of simple and frequently faulty structures. The student struggles with basic verb tenses, subject-verb agreement, and articles (e.g., 'toilets remains same', 'bin changed into recycling bins', 'their was many spaces'). Attempts at complex or passive structures are inaccurate or incomplete, such as 'staff dining rooms replaced by take away food'. Punctuation is also problematic, with missing periods, incorrect comma usage, and run-on phrasing. Because errors are frequent, noticeable, and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, this performance meets the descriptor for Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0 based on positive achievement.
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.