Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 redesigned map decribes the extention of college cafe. First i discuss about the cafe before redesign, as it had a staff dining room and dining table area. In the right there were the toilets and bin. there was a very conjusted area for people and students. But now the new cafe after redesign has new feature and area. It consists of an extended area for sitting. An outdoor seating has been also added, which can allow more space and increase the number of customers. A wide area for coffee bar and take away food is given. A new barbecue and hot meal setup is also added. The new redesigned cafe has more features and attractive. It also has a wide and extended that can allow more number of students and staff. The old cafe design had a seperate staff dining rooms which was a good iniciative but in new cafe its not available.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task only partially, which places it at this level. You have successfully identified several key changes between the two plans, such as the addition of the outdoor seating area, the barbecue, and the removal of the staff dining rooms. However, your overview and comparison of the changes lack sufficient depth and precision. For instance, you mention that 'the redesigned map decribes the extention of college cafe', but your description of the spatial layout remains somewhat limited and under-developed. To reach a higher band, you need to provide a more thorough and well-supported overview of the main trends and features, ensuring that all major transformations—such as the repositioning of the serving counters into specific stations like the coffee bar and salad bar—are clearly reported and compared without relying on vague summaries.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation in your writing, but it lacks a clear overall progression. You attempt to guide the reader by writing 'First i discuss about the cafe before redesign', but the sequencing of information between paragraphs feels disjointed rather than logically structured. Additionally, cohesive devices are basic, repetitive, or inaccurate, and paragraphing is not used effectively to separate the past layout from the current layout. For example, sentences bounce between the past and present without smooth transitional phrases. To improve, you should group your ideas into coherent paragraphs—one for the initial layout and another for the current layout—and employ a wider variety of cohesive markers to connect your ideas fluidly and logically throughout the essay.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary range is limited but minimally adequate to convey the basic subject matter. You make several noticeable lexical errors and spelling mistakes, such as 'decribes' instead of 'describes', 'extention' instead of 'extension', 'conjusted' instead of 'congested', 'iniciative' instead of 'initiative', and writing 'sitting' instead of 'seating'. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reveal a restricted control of word forms and collocations. To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider and more precise range of vocabulary suitable for describing graphical data, ensure correct word formation, and eliminate spelling errors by carefully proofreading your work before submission.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

Your writing demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent structural errors. There are multiple issues with capitalization, such as starting sentences with lowercase letters ('First i discuss', 'there was'), missing articles ('in new cafe its not available'), and awkward phrasing patterns. Your attempts at complex or comparative structures are often faulty. To move up to a higher band, you must incorporate a greater variety of complex sentence forms with accurate punctuation, ensure proper subject-verb agreement and article usage, and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips that disrupt the flow of your writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.