Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-24

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 6.0)

The two maps illustrate the layout of a cafe before it redesigned and after its refurbisment plan.

Overall, the cafe underwent substanial changes such as outdoor seating arrangements, salad bar and barbecues were added in new arrangements.

Before renovation, kitchen was in north-west direction and serving area on the west direction, however, staff dinning rooms were in the centre of the premises and toilets were on the south-eastern side of the toilets. Moreover, in the east corner of the premises, some area was dedicated to the bin.

After redevelopment of the cafe, the significant change could be noticed like some area devoted to the salad bar on the western side and bin area had been little extended by adding the provision of recycling bin. In addition, outdoor seating area had also been added with the barbeque arrangement, that had been located just near the door at the south-western part, however the major replacement could be seen in staff dinning area with facilities like take away and coffe bar., however toilets were situted at the same side of the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main features of the cafe redesign, including the addition of the salad bar, outdoor seating, and the reconfiguration of the staff area. However, the description of the 'before' state is slightly inaccurate, such as the claim that toilets were on the 'south-eastern side of the toilets', which is confusing. While the main features are identified, the comparison between the two plans could be more precise. The overview is present but could be more effectively integrated to highlight the most significant changes, such as the shift from a purely functional layout to one incorporating customer-facing amenities like the salad bar and outdoor seating.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. While there is a logical progression, the use of cohesive devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly awkward, such as the repetitive use of 'however' and 'in addition'. Paragraphing is used, but the transition between the description of the 'before' state and the 'after' state could be smoother. Some sentences are slightly disjointed, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when describing the location of the toilets and the bin area.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with attempts at topic-specific language like 'refurbishment', 'redevelopment', and 'arrangements'. However, there are several spelling errors ('substanial', 'dinning', 'coffe', 'situted') and some awkward collocations. The range is sufficient to convey the main points, but the lack of precision in word choice limits the score. To improve, you should focus on accurate spelling and using more varied descriptive verbs to explain the changes, such as 'transformed', 'relocated', or 'expanded'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('in north-west direction'), incorrect preposition usage, and punctuation issues, such as the misuse of commas and periods (e.g., 'coffe bar., however'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are noticeable and occur throughout the text. To reach a higher band, you need to improve your control over basic grammar, particularly article usage and sentence punctuation, and aim for more error-free complex sentences.

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

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