Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-14

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 design illustrates how a college cafe redesigned and how its look nowadays.

Overall, a signficant changes been made to the cafe such as a totally new zone has been introduced called outdoor seating with barbecueand and also a coffe bar near the center of the cafe. Moreover, staff dining rooms have removed from the new design.

In new cafe, we can see hot meals option in the place of serving area. However, worker dinings have been replaced by a take away food and a coffee bar. The tables and chairs are at the same place as previous but a salad bar has been added at the top of the middle spot while recycling bins at the down and toilets are the corner side as before.

A brand new outdoor accomodation is the attraction of the cafe with a barbecue opportunity at the last side of the cafe and this wasn't included in the old cafe design.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the new outdoor seating and barbecue, the replacement of the staff dining rooms with takeaway and coffee facilities, and the change from a general serving area to hot meals. You also note that the toilets and central tables remain. However, the account is only partly complete: the salad bar is placed “at the top” rather than along the western wall, and the new southern doors and recycling bins are not described precisely. The overview mentions the main additions and removals, but does not clearly summarise the overall reorganisation. To strengthen the report, compare the plans more systematically and describe the locations of the key features accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes. This gives the reader some organisation, and expressions such as “Moreover” and “However” attempt to connect ideas. Nevertheless, progression is uneven: the second paragraph repeats the replacement of the staff dining rooms already mentioned in the overview, while the final paragraph returns to outdoor seating without adding much detail. Some links are also unclear, as in “at the down” and “at the last side,” which make spatial relationships difficult to follow. Group the changes by area—for example, interior facilities first and outdoor additions second—and use clear references such as “along the eastern wall” or “to the south of the café.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “serving area,” “tables and chairs,” “recycling bins,” and “outdoor seating,” so the main subject is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, sometimes making the description unclear. For example, “worker dinings” is not a natural way to refer to the staff dining rooms, and “outdoor accomodation” does not describe an outdoor seating area. There are also spelling errors in “signficant,” “coffe,” and “accomodation,” alongside the fused phrase “barbecueand.” Build a more precise set of terms for facilities and locations, and check spelling and natural combinations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer sentences, including a contrast with “However” and a relative clause in “which …” constructions. However, errors are frequent, and some sentences are difficult to interpret. The opening, “how a college cafe redesigned,” is missing a passive verb form; “a signficant changes been made” has problems with the article, number, and verb; and “staff dining rooms have removed” needs a passive construction. Other patterns, such as “the toilets are the corner side,” lack the grammatical structure needed to express location clearly. Practise accurate past and present passive forms for describing plans, alongside articles, agreement, and prepositions. Shorter, carefully controlled sentences would improve clarity while you develop more complex structures.

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