Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-17

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 table below illustrates a renovated college cafe with extended features how it was before modifiying and after modifiied.

Overall,before renovation there was staff dining rooms,tiolets,kitchen,serving area and bin.whereas,after renovating it enlarged the size and extended with barbeque,outdoor seating take away,salad bar and coffee bar.

After renovation,outdoor seatings and barbeque nation were added further to the cafe,while salad bar,coffee bar and take away food

had developed.whereas,after expanding the cafe staff dining rooms were removed.However,after redeveloped the cafe several extra bars were erected.whereas,recylcing bins were opened up.

Before renovation,only few of the kitchen areas was introduced and the cafe has only staff dining rooms,tiolets and bins.Moreover,tables,chairs and tiolet remained same before and after the renovation.Addtionally,the cafe became bigger after developing and adding extra things.

In conclusion,the size is enlarged compared to before renovating and developed outdoor seatings and barbeque.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad change from staff dining rooms to new food facilities and outdoor seating, and correctly note that the toilets and central tables and chairs remain. However, the report is only a partial account of the plans: it omits important details such as the kitchen remaining in place, the hot-meals counter, and the new southern doors. The statement that the café “enlarged the size” is not clearly supported by the plan, which shows added outdoor seating rather than a larger indoor café. Several points are repeated instead of developed into a clear comparison. The response is also 12 words below the required minimum, limiting the detail available. To improve, select the main changes accurately and describe their locations in a fuller overview and comparison.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is an attempt to organise the response into paragraphs, and the opening overview signals a before-and-after comparison. However, ideas do not progress clearly: the second paragraph repeats the additions already mentioned in the overview, while the third returns to features that remained unchanged. Linking words such as “whereas” and “however” are often used without a clear contrast, as in “However, after redeveloped the cafe several extra bars were erected.” This makes relationships between points difficult to follow. Some sentences also end abruptly or leave the reader unsure what is being compared. A clearer structure would be an overview followed by one paragraph on changes and another on features that stayed the same, using fewer, more accurate connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response includes relevant topic vocabulary, including “staff dining rooms,” “serving area,” “salad bar,” and “outdoor seating,” so the reader can identify several features. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations make the description unclear. For example, “barbeque nation” does not express the intended feature, and “extra bars were erected” is imprecise for the new food and drink facilities. There are also noticeable spelling and word-form errors, including “modifiying,” “tiolets,” “recylcing,” and “Addtionally.” These reduce clarity and control. Use the labels shown in the plans where possible, and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with contrast, but complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “Overall,before renovation there was staff dining rooms” has incorrect agreement, while “the cafe several extra bars were erected” lacks a clear grammatical structure. Tense and sentence construction are also inconsistent in phrases such as “how it was before modifiying and after modifiied.” Punctuation spacing is uneven, and several clauses are joined with commas or connectors without a complete, clear structure. Practise accurate simple comparisons first, then combine them using controlled clauses such as “While the toilets remained, the staff dining rooms were replaced by…”

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.