Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24

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 plan shows how the new redesign college cafe looks. There are some big changes they made that gives high-five look to the new cafe.

Firstly, we talk about the area remained stable. Kitchen and toilets were placed on same area where they were before. It was the same size as before.

The chnages they made were Serving area, staff dinning rooms. Instead of serving area they made Hot meals counter. where student can receive hot meals. And, they updated Take away food and coffee bar rather than keep the Staff dinning rooms.

In today's cafe they gave more room to Recycling bin section compared to they had before. In oppsite direction of Recycling Bin they build new Salad bar section for students who prefer only vegetables.

Table and chairs have almost same space they had before. The big change they have in today's cafe is Barbecue. They build the new outdoor seating. So, student can enjoy the barbecue and seat outside.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to summarise the changes shown in the two maps of the college cafe. While the main features are identified—such as the conversion of staff dining rooms into a take-away food area and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue—the response suffers from a very informal and conversational tone ("we talk about", "high-five look"). Furthermore, the overview is extremely basic and lacks formal academic framing. The task is addressed, but the development of ideas remains somewhat superficial, placing this response at Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is organized into short paragraphs, attempting to group related features such as unchanged areas and new additions. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions ("Firstly, we talk about...", "In today's cafe they gave more room..."). Cohesive devices are minimal, mechanical, or used inaccurately, and referencing is sometimes unclear ("It was the same size as before"). Paragraphing is attempted, but overall organization lacks cohesion and smooth flow, warranting a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The lexical range is limited and repetitive ("area", "cafe", "section", "made"). There are several inappropriate word choices and non-standard expressions, such as "high-five look", "dinning rooms" (spelling error), and "seat outside" instead of 'sit outside'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success or poor collocation. While the reader can understand the intended meaning, the frequent lexical errors and lack of sophisticated phrasing restrict the score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and moderately complex sentences, but grammatical accuracy is weak throughout. There are noticeable errors in subject-verb agreement and tense consistency, such as "The plan shows how the new redesign college cafe looks", "gives high-five look", and "area remained stable". Punctuation and article usage are also flawed (e.g., missing articles before singular countable nouns like "barbecue" or "salad bar"). Because errors occur frequently and cause some distraction, the performance aligns with Band 5.0.

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

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