Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-09

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)

in the older version of the cafe, there were just basic sections, it looks like it is the map of the cafe when it was newly opened and they don't had many customers at that time. by the passage of time, the cafe transformed into a magical place. it looks like they added every catagory of food to serve every customer visiting their cafe. i am sure it also helped them to improve their sales. In today's cafe, they included a section barbecue.They also added a coffee bar section to serve their customers in the morning time when they can enjoy their coffee in the outdoor seating area. they also added a section of apetizer where they are serving fresh salad. Now you order your food and take away to home. Too keep the cafe clean, they added a claening area, you can put trash in the bins which are located in that area. they removed the staff dining rooms from the dining area so that customers can enjoy their meals

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several genuine changes, including the addition of a coffee bar, barbecue, outdoor seating and salad bar, and note that the staff dining rooms were removed. However, the response only partially reports the plans: it omits important features such as the hot-meals counter, takeaway section and the unchanged kitchen and toilets. Some details are inaccurate or unsupported: the plans do not show that the café was newly opened, had few customers, improved sales, or that the salad bar is specifically an appetizer section. The overview is also unclear because the changes are presented as a story about the café rather than a concise summary of its main spatial developments. Focus on what the diagrams show and compare the old and new layouts directly, without guessing at reasons or customer behaviour.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The response has a basic sequence, moving from the older café to features in the current one, and linking words such as “by the passage of time” and “also” help signal addition. However, ideas are not arranged into clear paragraphs or grouped by location or type of change, so the reader has to work to connect the details. The shift from the café’s history to claims about sales and customer routines interrupts the description. Some references are also unclear, as in “a cleaning area” and “that area,” which do not accurately identify the recycling bins’ position. Organise the response into an overview followed by grouped comparisons, such as changes inside the café and additions outside, and use clear references to each feature.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing the plan, including “outdoor seating,” “staff dining rooms,” “coffee bar” and “bins.” However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or informal for an IELTS map description. “Magical place” is subjective, while “cleaning area” mislabels the recycling-bin location; “appetizer” is not the label shown for the salad bar. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “catagory,” “apetizer” and “claening,” which reduce precision. Aim to use the plan’s labels and neutral terms such as “section,” “counter,” “facility” and “area,” and choose verbs that describe layout changes precisely, such as “was replaced by” or “was added.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts some longer sentences, for example, “they also added a coffee bar section to serve their customers in the morning time when they can enjoy their coffee in the outdoor seating area.” However, the range is limited, and errors in verb forms, agreement and sentence construction are frequent enough to make parts awkward. Examples include “they don't had many customers,” “the cafe transformed,” and “Now you order your food and take away to home.” The opening also shifts between past and present forms (“there were” and “it looks”), making the time reference inconsistent. Use past tense for the former plan and present tense for the current one, and check subject–verb agreement and complete sentence structure. Short, accurate comparison sentences would improve clarity.

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