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 given two maps are illustrating two different designs. First design is showing the a simple cafe pitcher in which there is a kitchen in east south of the area. There is the door of kitchen at the left side and next to door there is a serving area where all food and deinks are served. Along kitchen there are two staff dinig rooms. There rae two doors in the top west corner for entry. Following doors there is a bin for trash. In lower west north corner there is toilet. Rest of the area is occupied with the chairs and tables.

On other hand, when it is redesigned there are very obvious changes in the design. Kitchen is at same place but the serving area is slightly ahead then the kitchen. Toilets and bin is at the same place but there is a vast outdoor sitting area as well. In the east there is salad bar and barbecue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

The response addresses the task only partially, resulting in a minimal presentation of the visual data. While the student attempts to contrast the two maps, the selection of features is very limited and contains significant inaccuracies regarding locations and spatial relationships. For instance, the student mislocates the kitchen and describes the layout using confused directional terms such as 'east south' and 'lower west north corner'. Furthermore, the overview is absent, and key alterations—such as the conversion of staff dining rooms into take-away and coffee areas, or the addition of recycling bins—are omitted or incorrectly reported. To reach higher bands, the writer must provide a clear overall summary of the main trends and accurately report key features with precise spatial referencing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates some basic organization with a rudimentary division into an introduction and a second redesigned state paragraph. However, there is no clear overall progression due to the confusing spatial descriptions and lack of cohesive devices. While some linking phrases like 'First design' and 'On other hand' are attempted, referencing is frequently unclear, and the mechanical flow hinders readability. Paragraphing is also rudimentary, blending multiple disparate details into single blocks. To improve in this area, the writer needs to logically group related information, ensure smoother transitions between sentences, and use cohesive devices more accurately to guide the reader through the comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is basic, repetitive, and heavily relies on words directly lifted from the prompt or task image, such as 'kitchen', 'serving area', 'toilets', and 'tables'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices, including 'cafe pitcher' instead of plan or map, and 'deinks' instead of drinks. The range is limited and minimally adequate for conveying very simple ideas, but inaccuracies occasionally cause strain for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the student should expand their lexical repertoire to include varied synonyms and less common functional vocabulary suited to describing architectural changes and spatial configurations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response employs a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences with repetitive 'there is' or 'there are' patterns. Attempts at more complex constructions are largely absent. Frequent grammatical errors occur throughout the text, particularly with articles ('the a simple cafe'), prepositions ('at the left side', 'in east south'), pluralization ('dinig rooms'), and subject-verb agreement. Although basic meaning is occasionally extractable, these persistent errors cause frequent difficulty and distraction for the reader. To improve, the writer must work on mastering basic grammatical rules, including articles and prepositions, while gradually incorporating a wider variety of clause structures.

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.