Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-27
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 map illustrates the changes that took place a college cafe in past and now.
Overall, the college cafe has significant changes of its layout and facilities, Several areas were relocated and replaced, while new facilities, such as hotel meals, a take away foods and coffee bar, were introduced.
In the past, the cafe had Kitchen and Serving area in northeast corner, while the Toilets were southwest corner. In the centre of the cafe, there were Tables and chairs, Staff dining rooms was situated in the north side of the cafe, while the bin was west side of the cafe.
At present, Serving area has been converted in to Hot meals, while Staff dining rooms has been replaced with Take away food and Coffee bar. Bins has been converted with Recycling bins and Salad bar has been installed. Barbecue and Outdoor seating have been installed in south side of the cafe.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by summarizing the main changes shown in the two maps of the college café. However, there are notable inaccuracies in spatial reporting. For instance, the student states that in the past, 'the cafe had Kitchen and Serving area in northeast corner, while the Toilets were southwest corner', whereas the visual data clearly places the kitchen in the upper-left (northwest) and the toilets in the bottom-right (southeast). Additionally, there is a minor lexical slip referring to 'hotel meals' instead of 'hot meals'. Despite these inaccuracies and a slightly underdeveloped overview, the response covers the main structural alterations such as the conversion of staff dining rooms into take-away and coffee areas, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. This performance aligns best with Band 5.5 to 6.0, warranting a score of 5.5 due to spatial misreadings.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is organized into four paragraphs, following a logical progression from an introduction and overview to past and present descriptions. However, overall coherence is hindered by awkward phrasing and mechanical transitions. Cohesive devices are basic and sometimes misused, such as 'while the bin was west side of the cafe' and 'Bins has been converted with Recycling bins'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of information lacks seamless flow. Referencing between sentences occasionally creates confusion. Overall, the organization provides a recognizable structure, but cohesion is faulty enough to fit the Band 5 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student uses a limited range of vocabulary appropriate for describing a plan, relying heavily on direct lifts from the prompt labels such as 'Kitchen', 'Serving area', 'Tables and chairs', and 'Toilets'. There are noticeable lexical and typographical errors, including 'hotel meals' instead of 'hot meals', 'a take away foods' (grammatically incorrect collocation), and awkward phrasing like 'bins has been converted with'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited success. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey basic information about the redesign, the frequency of errors and repetition places this in the Band 5.0 range.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'Overall, the college cafe has significant changes of its layout...' and 'In the past, the cafe had Kitchen and Serving area in northeast corner...'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak throughout. There are missing articles ('took place a college cafe', 'in northeast corner'), incorrect prepositions ('in past', 'on south side'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('Staff dining rooms was', 'Bins has been converted'). These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader and restrict the grammatical range and control, aligning with a Band 5 score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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