Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-06
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 plan before and after has been totally changed. The earlier plan is very simple as compare to the today plan. The plan before redesign were have staff dining rooms allocated in the plan. In the todays's cafe plan having 2 seperate things has build, one is take away food and another one is coffe bar. In comparisons of both the plans on the place of bin earlier in the plan there is an recycaling bin. In earlier plan there is no salad bar infact todyas's plan indicating the seperate salad bar. In the todays cafe plan have a extended barbecue section which earlier plan don't have. There is no outdoor area in the before plan but, in the today's plan there is an seperate outdoor seating section and it's craete huge diffrence in both the plan. The cafe today plan is much bigger than the cafe befor plan. In the plan before cafe there is serving area but, in today's cafe plan there is Hot meals area.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making comparisons between the two plans, which positions it at this level. You successfully highlighted key alterations such as the addition of the outdoor seating area, the barbecue, the salad bar, and the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take-away food section and coffee bar. However, some ideas are under-developed or lack full clarity. For instance, your statement that 'The cafe today plan is much bigger than the cafe befor plan' misinterprets the visual data, as the overall building footprint remains the same while its internal layout and exterior features have changed. To move to a higher band, ensure that all reported comparisons strictly reflect the visual data without overstating spatial changes, and fully develop the descriptions of changes around the kitchen and serving counters.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0
The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement by working through the changes systematically, moving from general observations to specific structural modifications like the bin and the outdoor areas. However, information and ideas are not arranged with a clear, logical progression throughout. Sentences are presented as a series of isolated points rather than flowing smoothly together as a unified report. Furthermore, paragraphing is absent, as the entire response is written as a single block of text. There is an over-reliance on repetitive framing devices such as 'In the plan before' and 'in today's cafe plan', which makes the text feel mechanical. To achieve a higher score, you should structure your writing into clear paragraphs, such as an introduction followed by two body paragraphs detailing the specific transformations, and use a wider variety of cohesive links to connect your ideas.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
An adequate range of vocabulary is used for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to the visual data such as 'barbecue section', 'outdoor seating', 'salad bar', and 'coffee bar'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice, word form, and spelling that reflect a limited level of precision. Examples include 'coffe' instead of 'coffee', 'recycaling' instead of 'recycling', 'todyas's' instead of 'today's', and the awkward phrase 'craete huge diffrence'. Furthermore, verbs and nouns are sometimes confused, as seen in 'there is an recycaling bin' and 'has build'. These lexical inaccuracies and spelling errors do not completely impede communication, but they restrict your score. To improve, you should carefully check your word forms and spelling against standard academic terms, and avoid repetitive phrasing when introducing features from the diagram.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The response relies heavily on a limited range of basic sentence structures, predominantly using simple sentences linked by conjunctions, while attempts at complex or comparative structures are frequently faulty. There are persistent errors in grammar throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The plan before redesign were have', 'The cafe today plan have'), incorrect auxiliary usage ('has build'), and awkward prepositional patterns ('on the place of bin'). Punctuation is also basic, with missing apostrophes in contractions or possessives. These frequent errors in grammar and structure mean the text falls short of higher band requirements. To lift your grammatical range and accuracy, work on mastering standard subject-verb agreement, improve your control over passive and active voice when describing changes to buildings, and reduce basic structural errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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