Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-11

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)

This diagram illustrates the redesigned plan of the college cafe and shows the difference between the look before and now.

Overall, the cafe has been totally redesigned and has added many essential things like a coffee bar, outdoor seating, a barbecue, and a salad bar.

In the old cafe, it was totally simple, and not many things were placed there. In the middle, a set of tables and chairs was placed; beside this, there was a toilet and a bin. In front of the chairs there was a staff dining room

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad change from the old café to the redesigned one and give an overview mentioning the coffee bar, outdoor seating, barbecue and salad bar. However, the report is very incomplete: it describes only a few features of the former layout and gives almost no account of the current plan. Important changes such as the hot-meals counter, takeaway section, recycling bins and new southern doors are omitted, and the staff dining rooms are mentioned without explaining their replacement. Some details are also imprecise: the toilet and bin are described as beside the tables, and the staff dining room as “in front” of the chairs, rather than locating them clearly. The response is also 59 words below the required minimum, which contributes to the limited coverage. Develop a fuller comparison of both plans.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, understandable structure: an introduction, an overall statement and a paragraph beginning with the old café. This gives the reader a simple route through the information, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In the old cafe” help signal the stages of the description. However, the account stops before it develops a clear progression through the two plans, so the comparison is not completed. Within the final paragraph, “beside this” and “In front of the chairs” do not make the spatial relationships especially clear. Organise the details by area or by old-versus-new changes, and use more precise links such as “along the eastern wall” or “in contrast, the redesigned café includes” to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the general subject, with relevant terms such as “redesigned plan,” “outdoor seating,” “barbecue,” and “tables and chairs.” However, the range is limited and some wording is vague or repetitive: “totally redesigned,” “totally simple,” and “many essential things” do not describe the plan precisely. “A set of tables and chairs was placed” is also less natural for describing a fixed layout. Use more specific plan vocabulary, for example “the central seating area remained,” “facilities were added,” or “the former staff dining rooms were replaced by…” Avoid repeating “totally,” and name the features and their positions rather than referring generally to “things.” This would make the description more precise and appropriately formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use several straightforward sentence forms accurately, including “Overall, the cafe has been totally redesigned” and “In the middle, a set of tables and chairs was placed.” The opening also attempts a compound structure with “and shows.” However, the range is narrow, with mostly short, simple statements and little use of comparison or location clauses to explain the changes. The final sentence, “In front of the chairs there was a staff dining room,” is grammatically understandable, but the singular “a staff dining room” does not clearly express the two rooms shown. Practise combining accurate clauses, for example, “While the kitchen remained in the north-west corner, the former staff rooms were replaced by a takeaway counter and coffee bar.” This would add variety while keeping the layout clear.

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