Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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 diagrams illustrates the layout of college cafe before and after renovation. A significant number of features are added like salad bar, barbecue and outdoor sitting in current model which were not a part of previous model .

Overall it can be seen that, number of modification include in the kitchen like serving area is converted into hot meal area while the position of kitchen remains same in both model. Moreover, the large area in the hall comprised of tables and chairs which was previously has only staff dinning along with table and chairs now changed into two parts for take away food and a coffee bar. The extreme left side of hall now has a salad bar and the backyard is now utilized as outdoor sitting with the addition of barbecue. The positions of toilets remains the same while the bins are now in the form of recycling bins.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student attempts to address the task by comparing the two plans of the college cafe. Key transformations are identified, such as the conversion of staff dining rooms into a take-away food section and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of outdoor seating and a barbecue. However, the response has notable weaknesses in overview and data selection. The overview is embedded awkwardly in the introduction rather than presented as a distinct paragraph, and the summary lacks a clear holistic synthesis of the major spatial changes. Furthermore, some descriptions are imprecise or overly brief, leading to an under-development of certain features, which aligns this performance with Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text demonstrates a basic level of organization, moving from an introductory sentence into a description of the changes. However, the paragraphing is problematic; the entire body of the response is crammed into a single massive paragraph along with the introduction, failing to use paragraph breaks effectively to separate different areas of the cafe. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes mechanical ('Moreover', 'Overall it can be seen that'). Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'both model' and 'current model', making the logical progression of ideas somewhat disjointed and deserving of a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to name various facilities like 'salad bar', 'barbecue', 'take away food', and 'recycling bins'. However, there are frequent lexical errors and instances of awkward word choice or missing plural forms, such as 'The diagrams illustrates' (instead of diagram illustrates), 'outdoor sitting' (instead of outdoor seating), 'current model' (instead of current plan/layout), and 'staff dinning'. Because these errors occasionally cause strain and show a limited range of less common vocabulary, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar and punctuation is weak. There are several noticeable errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The diagrams illustrates'), missing articles ('college cafe', 'kitchen'), and awkward relative clauses ('which was previously has only staff dinning'). Punctuation is also neglected in places. Because errors are frequent and occasionally impede smooth reading, the writing fits the Band 5.0 descriptor.

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