Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05

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 provided maps illustrates a higher educational institution's cafe that it was modified and presents its current picture.

Overall, there is a huge difference can be seen that on the eastest side , outdoor seating area and barbecue area has been build while there is nothing like that before. One major change is that trash bins are now converted into the recycling bins that can automatically convert the waste into reuseable material.

Now turning to the details, kitchen area is not changed while the followed serving area is now converted into a hot meals section. Moreover, two compartments of staff dining room which are on the northest side is now redesigned to take away food and coffee bar separately. it is worth noticing that toilets are on the same place and did not changed.

In addition, it is clear from the data, that inner seating remains the same with no change , while it is interesting to note that on the back side of the cafe, A barbecue area and lots of seating arrangements is made for the students to enjoy nature and cool breeze especially at night.

It is crystal clear that inner tables and chairs are at the same place as before while another seating place is made outdoor for students who want to enjoy the nature.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task only partially because it contains several factual inaccuracies and unsupported speculation. For instance, the student states that 'trash bins are now converted into the recycling bins that can automatically convert the waste into reuseable material', which invents a feature not present in the visual data. Similarly, the claim that the barbecue area is made for students to 'enjoy nature and cool breeze especially at night' relies heavily on personal imagination rather than objective reporting. While the main features such as the kitchen and toilets remaining unchanged are noted, the overall development of ideas is limited, preventing the response from achieving a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is some organisation evident with basic paragraphing and transitional phrases like 'Now turning to the details' and 'In addition', but overall there is a lack of clear progression. Cohesive devices are sometimes repetitive, mechanical, or used inaccurately, such as the redundant phrase 'it is worth noticing that toilets are on the same place and did not changed.' Referencing is occasionally unclear, and the mechanical repetition of the seating areas across multiple paragraphs disrupts the logical flow of information. To improve, the writer needs to group related details more systematically and use a wider, more natural range of cohesive links without repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The lexical range used is limited but minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'higher educational institution', but produces noticeable errors in word choice, form, and collocation, including 'eastest side' instead of eastern side, 'did not changed' (which crosses over with verb form issues), and 'rebuild' or 'build' instead of built. Phrases like 'current picture' are slightly unnatural for academic map descriptions. While communication is generally maintained, these lexical inaccuracies prevent the response from reaching a higher level of precision and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a limited range of structures, with frequent errors occurring in both simple and complex sentence forms. There are notable issues with verb tenses, passive voice construction, and agreement, such as 'The provided maps illustrates' (plural subject with singular verb), 'has been build' (incorrect past participle), and 'there is a huge difference can be seen'. Additionally, punctuation and article usage are occasionally faulty, as seen in 'on the northest side is now redesigned to take away food'. These frequent grammatical errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted control over grammatical range and accuracy.

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

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