Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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 4.0)

The map chart illustrates a cafe of college before it was redesigned and now how it looks now.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that before cafe redesigned beside of the kitchen and now changed and made a hot meals while, before staff dining rooms available and now it was changed and make a take away food and coffee bar. Before opposite in cross of table and chairs toilet was before and now it was a similar.

Cafe redesigned before and now, kitchen was a similar in both images. Before serving area for all food and drink and now it was changed and made a hot meals Whereas, before staff dining rooms available and now it was proporly changed and make a take away food and coffee bar. In both images of map toilet was a similar in before and now.

Beside of hot and meals now an architect a salad bar in contrast, before only bin and now made a recycling bin . Now, beside of salad bar and barbecue made in a outside and make a outdoor seating tables for a seating.

Overall,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The student attempts to describe the main changes shown in the two maps, noting the modifications to the kitchen/serving area, the staff dining rooms being converted into a takeaway and coffee bar, and the addition of a salad bar, outdoor seating, and a barbecue. However, the response falls short of fully presenting a well-organized overview of the main trends. The descriptions of locations are frequently confusing or inaccurate (e.g., describing the toilets as being 'opposite in cross of table and chairs'). Furthermore, the final paragraph trails off into fragments ('Overall,'). While the candidate identifies several key features, the lack of clarity and poor development place this in Band 4.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response shows severe organizational issues. The progression of ideas is very difficult to follow due to broken sentence structures and an ineffective paragraphing structure, culminating in an incomplete final line. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, resulting in disjointed sentences that do not flow logically from one point to the next. Referencing between the two maps is frequently ambiguous or incorrect. Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal coherence within paragraphs is weak. This corresponds to the Band 4.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive. The student relies heavily on simple words and phrases copied or adapted from the prompt, such as 'cafe', 'redesigned', 'kitchen', 'tables and chairs', and 'toilets'. There are frequent errors in word choice, form, and collocation (e.g., 'architect a salad bar', 'make a take away food', 'in cross of'). These lexical inadequacies and frequent awkward expressions strain the reader's understanding, aligning with Band 4.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is extremely weak throughout the response. The vast majority of sentences contain major errors, missing verbs, incorrect word order, and faulty clause structures (e.g., 'The map chart illustrates a cafe of college before it was redesigned and now how it looks now.' and 'Before opposite in cross of table and chairs toilet was before and now it was a similar.'). Complex structures are attempted unsuccessfully, and basic punctuation and sentence boundaries are frequently ignored. This reflects the Band 4.0 descriptor level.

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

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