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)
The two plans show how the layout of a college café has been redesigned, comparing its previous arrangement with its current one.
Before redesigned, college cafe has less services as compare to today plan. In the past, the shape of cafe is rectangle and left upside has kitchen at top and bottom has Serving area for food and drink. Moreover, centre of the cafe has tables and chairs and top-center constructed staff dining rooms. It has also Toilets in bottom-right corners.
Contemporary, the cafe is expanded with barbecue and outdoor seating and it is located below the main rectangle shape. Kitchen is same place and Serving area name changed to Hot meals. Apart from that, staff dining rooms transformed into Take away food and Coffee bar. There also have new Recycling at right side end of the rectangle and opposite of the left side have Salad bar.
To conclude, college cafe have new facilities then before, so it has more space to arrange everything properly. Before redesign it has fewer space but now with the barbecue and outdoor seating shows elegant.
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 response covers the main features of the two plans, noting key changes such as the transformation of the staff dining rooms into a take away food and coffee bar area, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue. An overview is provided in the final paragraph. However, some descriptions are inaccurate or awkward, such as stating that the cafe 'is expanded with barbecue and outdoor seating and it is located below the main rectangle shape'. Furthermore, the comparison lacks precision in places. This performance fits the Band 5.0 descriptor as it addresses the task partially with some limited and under-developed ideas.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is divided into four paragraphs, following a logical layout with an introduction, body paragraphs comparing the past and present, and a conclusion. However, the progression of ideas is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and poor cohesive devices (e.g., starting a paragraph with 'Contemporary,' instead of 'Currently'). Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the overall mechanical nature of the linking devices places this squarely at Band 5.0, where organisation is present but lacks clear overall progression and smooth cohesion.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. The student relies heavily on direct lifting from the prompt or uses incorrect word forms (e.g., 'Before redesigned', 'less services', 'more space'). Phrases like 'shows elegant' are grammatically incorrect and inappropriate in collocations. There are noticeable errors in word choice that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. This vocabulary range and accuracy match the Band 5.0 descriptor, representing a limited but minimally adequate range for the task.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The text shows a very limited range of grammatical structures. Simple sentences dominate, and attempts at complex structures are consistently faulty (e.g., 'Before redesigned, college cafe has less services as compare to today plan' and 'Before redesign it has fewer space but now with the barbecue and outdoor seating shows elegant'). There are frequent errors in tense, subject-verb agreement, and prepositions that impede communication. These characteristics align with the Band 4.0/5.0 threshold, leaning towards Band 5.0 because the message is ultimately decipherable despite the frequent errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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