Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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)

There are maps demonstrate, in first map shows how was the cafe looked before the redesign and second map views the new representation of the cafe.

The main change which come is that some new outdoor seating are add at the bottom of the map and a barbecue add up to left side at the left side which is just opposite side of the outdoor seating.

There was a kitchen at the front area of map which remains the same, in contrast, a serving area (all foods and drink) is converted into a hot meals. A big change which come in the map is that two staff dinning rooms turned into take away food and coffee bar which are located south east side on the map.

Moreover, bin which was small before redesign, but now it is extented. However, there are nothing change in size and location of both tables, chairs area and toilet.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by describing the main changes between the two plans of the college cafe. However, the response lacks a proper overall summary or overview, which is essential for Band 6 and above in Academic Task 1. Key features are mentioned, such as the outdoor seating, the barbecue, the conversion of staff dining rooms into a take-away food counter and coffee bar, and the new salad bar (though the salad bar is omitted in the text). Some details are vague or slightly inaccurate, such as stating that the bin is 'extented' rather than replaced by recycling bins, and the description of locations is sometimes confusing. Overall, the response addresses the prompt minimally, fitting the Band 5 descriptor.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The organization of the essay is basic. The student attempts to group information into paragraphs, but the progression of ideas lacks clarity. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as 'The main change which come is that...' and 'Moreover, bin which was small...'. Paragraphing is attempted, but sentences within paragraphs are often disjointed, making the overall flow quite mechanical. Referencing and linking between sentences need significant improvement to guide the reader smoothly through the comparison of the two plans.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and repetitive. The student relies on basic vocabulary such as 'map', 'cafe', 'big change', and 'things'. There are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'maps demonstrate' instead of 'plans show', 'outdoor seating are add' instead of 'outdoor seating has been added', and 'dinning rooms turned into take away food'. Spelling and word formation errors, such as 'extented' instead of 'extended', further restrict the score. The vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey basic points, but lacks the precision required for a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5

The response exhibits a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most complex sentence attempts contain significant errors, such as 'There are maps demonstrate, in first map shows how was the cafe looked before...' and 'a barbecue add up to left side at the left side which is just opposite side'. Subject-verb agreement, verb tenses, and passive voice constructions are frequently mishandled ('are add', 'is converted into a hot meals', 'there are nothing change'). These frequent grammatical errors cause strain and difficulty for the reader.

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

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