Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-08

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 4.5)

The maps compare the layout of college cafe in the previous time and in present time.

Overall, many new facilities were introduced in the development of college cafe, however some places unchanged in both maps.

After analyzing it can be clearly seen that, there are kitchen which is identical in both maps in the north side, whereas serving area changed into hot meals

in future, there is staff dining rooms which will be converted into two rooms such as take awat food and coffee bar, however there are table and chairs which identical in both maps.

Moving further towards the remaining data

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the broad change from the former café to its current layout and note several accurate features: the kitchen remains in the north, the serving area becomes a hot-meal counter, and the staff dining rooms are replaced by takeaway and coffee facilities. However, the response addresses the task only partially. It omits major changes shown on the plans, including the salad bar, recycling bins, new southern doors, outdoor seating and barbecue, and gives no meaningful account of the toilets or bin area. The overview that “many new facilities were introduced” is too general to summarise the main changes. The response is also 48 words below the required minimum, leaving too little detail to report the plans adequately. Develop the comparison by covering the main internal and external changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response: an opening sentence is followed by an overview and then a paragraph describing selected features. Linking expressions such as “Overall” and “Moving further” show an effort to guide the reader. However, progression is weak because the final phrase, “Moving further towards the remaining data,” is not followed by any information. The body also combines several comparisons in one long sentence, making relationships between features difficult to follow. Some linking is mechanical or unclear, as in “After analyzing it can be clearly seen that.” Use separate paragraphs for the overview and for grouped changes, and ensure each paragraph develops a complete set of comparisons rather than ending abruptly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the general subject, with relevant terms such as “layout,” “facilities,” “kitchen,” “serving area,” and “coffee bar.” There is some attempt to vary wording through “introduced,” “unchanged,” and “converted.” However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or awkward, which sometimes makes the description less clear. For example, “in the previous time” is an unnatural way to refer to the earlier plan, and “in future” does not accurately describe the present-day layout. “Places” is also too vague for specific café areas, while “development of college cafe” is an imprecise collocation. Use precise plan vocabulary such as “former layout,” “current layout,” “counter,” and “seating area,” and check spelling, including “takeaway.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to combine ideas using clauses and contrast, for example in “whereas serving area changed into hot meals,” and the reader can generally identify the intended comparisons. However, the range of sentence structures is limited, and the longer sentence in the body contains several grammatical problems. Examples include the missing article in “layout of college cafe,” the incorrect construction “there are kitchen,” and the tense mismatch in “will be converted” when describing the current plan. The phrase “there are table and chairs which identical” also lacks correct agreement and a verb. Punctuation is inconsistent, particularly around the opening clause “After analyzing it can be clearly seen that.” Build shorter, complete sentences first, then practise accurate past-versus-present descriptions and article use.

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