Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-25

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 illustration gives information about the design of college cafe before the reconstruction and today look of cafe. Overall, today cafe looked better as compared before. Several placed are added today in cafe.

It is quite evident from the diagram that the plan of cafe before the redesign. The cafe was divided into several section. Toilets were located in the south side and Kitchen was build in north west side and serving area was set in the front of kitchen. Tables and chairs were set in the center of the cafe and staff dining rooms had also build.

However, today the design of cafe has changed. Several section has developed hot meals are set in front of the Kitchen. Tables and chairs are set in the center of the cafe and Coffee bar has also added. Salad bar is set in the west side. Outdoor seating are also add and Barbecue has developed in outside of the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The candidate attempts to summarise the main changes between the two plans of the college cafe, noting the addition of the salad bar, coffee bar, outdoor seating, and barbecue area. However, the response lacks a well-developed overview, offering merely a subjective personal opinion ('today cafe looked better') rather than an objective summary of key trends. Furthermore, some descriptions are vague or lack accurate spatial referencing, and key features such as the removal of the staff dining rooms to make way for the coffee bar and take-away section are not clearly articulated. This places the response comfortably in Band 5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is divided into three brief paragraphs, attempting a basic structure of introduction, past layout, and current layout. However, logical progression is weak. The transition 'It is quite evident from the diagram that the plan of cafe before the redesign' is grammatically incomplete and confusing. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, and occasionally mechanical, such as the frequent repetition of 'are set' and 'has developed'. Paragraphing is visibly disjointed, and referencing between sentences fails to build a clear, cohesive picture of the spatial transformations. This corresponds to Band 5 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, heavily relying on simple words like 'cafe', 'design', 'set', and 'area'. There are notable word-choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'today look of cafe' instead of 'current layout of the cafe', 'Several placed' instead of 'Several places' or 'areas', and 'Outdoor seating are also add' instead of 'Outdoor seating areas have also been added'. While the terminology relating to the cafe features is mostly borrowed from the prompt, the student's own lexical control is limited, justifying a Band 5 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures. Most sentences are simple or poorly constructed attempts at complex forms. There are frequent and systematic errors in tense usage ('today cafe looked', 'Kitchen was build', 'had also build', 'Several section has developed'), passive voice formation, and subject-verb agreement ('Outdoor seating are also add'). Punctuation and word forms are frequently faulty. These persistent errors cause noticeable strain for the reader and reflect Band 5 performance.

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

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