Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

the given figure illustrates the campus cafeteria back then and how it looks afetr renovation.

before the cafeteria was small, congested. there where kitchen, serving area, staffdining rooms, tables and chairs. it also includes toilets and bin in small area.

however, after its renovation, the cafeteria looks big and it has added outdoor seating and barbequece spot for pupils. also it consists of salad bar, kitchen, hotmeals, takeaway food, coffee bar, recycling bins and toilets.

lastly, cafe before contains less parts but after its redesign it contains several parts in it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count of 150 words, coming in at only 91 words. Because of this severe under-length, the task cannot be fully developed. While the student attempts to outline some changes between the two plans—such as mentioning the addition of outdoor seating, a barbecue spot, a salad bar, and recycling bins—the overview is extremely basic and lacks precise comparisons. Key features like the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take-away food area and coffee bar are missed or only vaguely touched upon. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand the analysis significantly, include a clear overview paragraph, and systematically compare the spatial changes between the two floor plans.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is divided into four very short paragraphs, which helps establish a basic structure resembling an introduction, body, and conclusion. However, the overall progression is limited by the brevity of the response. Cohesive devices are minimal, relying on basic transitions like 'before', 'however', and 'lastly'. Paragraphing is attempted, but the extreme brevity means that logical organization cannot be fully demonstrated. To improve, the student should use a wider variety of cohesive devices to link spatial relationships and ensure each body paragraph develops a coherent set of comparative details.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive ('café', 'renovation', 'kitchen', 'parts'). There are spelling and typographical errors, such as 'afetr' instead of 'after' and 'barbequece' instead of 'barbecue'. The student attempts some task-specific vocabulary like 'serving area', 'salad bar', and 'takeaway food', but the range remains restricted and minimally adequate for the topic. To score higher, the writer needs to incorporate a wider range of less common lexical items and precise vocabulary suitable for describing architectural changes and spatial layouts, such as 'transformed', 'converted', 'relocated', and 'extended'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a very limited range of sentence structures, consisting mostly of simple and low-level compound sentences. There are noticeable grammatical errors and punctuation issues, such as missing capitalisation at the beginning of sentences ('the given figure...', 'before the cafeteria...'), missing articles ('was small, congested', 'has added outdoor seating'), and incorrect phrasing like 'cafe before contains less parts'. While simple sentences are generally understandable, the lack of complex structures and the frequency of basic errors constrain the score in this category.

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

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