Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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 plans below show a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

lets talk about the college cafe before the drsign.one kitchen attached the serving area

one staff room with dining room.table and chair and setting area.

bin area and one toilet only .

college cafe after the desigen the kitchen on north side totally chnage and attached a hot meals area .

salad bar and sitting area west side .take away and beside a coffee area are located mid.

recycling area and toilets are the east side.

one side a barbecue area are westside

and outdoor seating area are well good managed .

the college cafe area after desigen are very different then before

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad change from the original café to its redesigned form, and mention several relevant features, including the hot-meals counter, salad bar, takeaway and coffee areas, recycling bins, toilets, barbecue and outdoor seating. However, the account is very brief and some details are inaccurate or unclear: the original plan shows two staff dining rooms, not “one staff room,” and the serving area is not described clearly. The overview that the café is “very different” is too general to explain the main changes. The response is also 47 words below the 150-word minimum; the 16 words copied from the prompt are excluded. To improve, give a clearer overview and compare the main changes in the interior and the new outdoor area.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic sequence from the café before redesign to the café today, and the final sentence attempts to summarise the overall change. This gives the reader a simple framework, but the information is presented as a series of disconnected fragments rather than a developed report. For example, “bin area and one toilet only” and “recycling area and toilets are the east side” are not linked to the surrounding descriptions, while “one side” does not clearly identify a location. There are no clear paragraphs or effective transitions to guide comparisons. Organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and one or two paragraphs grouped by location or by before-and-after changes; use precise linking phrases such as “whereas” and “in addition”.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “kitchen,” “serving area,” “salad bar,” “recycling,” “barbecue” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can recognise several features. However, the range is basic and repetitive, and inaccurate spelling or word choice often makes the description harder to understand. Examples include “drsign,” “desigen,” “chnage,” and “well good managed.” Phrases such as “one side” and “sitting area” are also too vague for describing a plan precisely. Build a small set of accurate location and change expressions, such as “along the western wall,” “was replaced by,” and “was added,” and check spelling before submitting. This would make the limited vocabulary more effective and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The response relies almost entirely on short, incomplete statements, so it shows very limited control of sentence structure. For instance, “one kitchen attached the serving area” lacks a clear verb pattern, and “recycling area and toilets are the east side” is missing the grammatical structure needed to express location. There are also problems with articles, agreement and punctuation, as in “one toilet only” and “one side a barbecue area are westside.” These errors frequently make relationships between features unclear. Practise writing complete sentences with a subject and verb, for example, “The kitchen remains in the north-west corner, while the former staff rooms have been replaced by a takeaway area and a coffee bar.” Use full stops and capital letters consistently.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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