Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-19

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 paln demonstrate the current layout of educational organization cafe and how it looked in the past.

Overall, the major change involved in design is the installation of outdoor seating area and add two new rooms in the westeast corner of the cafe.However, kitchen and main entrance door along with central seating area remained the same.

In the previous plan, cafe opening door was one the east side and if we move further we saw bin and at the end of this route you would saw a toilet room that faced toward the bin area.If we moved striaght from the entrance you would seen two combining rooms for staff dining and in front of it there was seating area .

In current redesign area of the cafe, bins near the entrance door now converted into recycling one and two combining room remained in the same place but changed their purpose one use for food take away and other for coffee bar ad

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response attempts to summarise the main changes between the two plans of the college cafe. An overall trend is provided at the beginning, noting that outdoor seating was added and layout changes occurred, while features like the kitchen remained. However, the description contains several inaccuracies regarding spatial locations, such as placing the new rooms in the 'westeast corner' and misinterpreting the previous staff rooms and entrance. The student attempts to report key features such as the takeaway food, coffee bar, and outdoor seating, but some details are under-developed or confused, and the writing trails off abruptly at the end with incomplete sentences. This performance aligns with Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into paragraphs, which helps establish a basic structure comparing the past and present layouts. However, the progression of information lacks clarity and logical flow, particularly in the body paragraphs where spatial descriptions become confusing and difficult to follow (e.g., 'if we move further we saw bin'). Cohesive devices are used minimally and somewhat mechanically ('In the previous plan', 'In current redesign area'), and referencing is occasionally unclear. Paragraphing is attempted, but the final paragraph is incomplete and abrupt, impacting overall coherence. This reflects Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for a basic comparison, employing terms like 'layout', 'installation', 'redesign', and 'purpose'. However, the range is limited and repetitive. There are noticeable word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'paln' for plan, 'westeast', 'striaght', and incomplete phrases like 'ad'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success and accuracy, occasionally causing strain for the reader. This performance sits firmly at Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors, including tense inconsistencies ('we saw bin', 'you would seen', 'now converted into'), missing articles, and subject-verb agreement issues. Several sentences are incorrectly structured or incomplete, particularly near the end of the response where the text trails off ("ad"). These errors frequently cause difficulty and hesitation for the reader. This corresponds to a Band 5.0.

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

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