Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-08-26

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 map details changes that occurred in the college cafe.

Looking from the overall perspective, it is readily apparent that the college cage had become more modern, and advanced including barbecue, and outside seating area.

It can be observed that there many changes occur in the cafe. There are staff dining rooms are changed into take away food and coffee bar sections. These dining rooms were replaced by coffee bar and food taking centre. It can be seen that the area of bin was reconstructed into a large bins area at the east side of the map. In the college cafe, there are few locations remained, such as the kitchen, and the toilets. Moreover, it is apparently seen that serving area for food and drink flattened the hot meals department. The college cafe also introduced new saladbar, barbecue, and the outdoor seating area sections in their cafe. In which, the salad bar's component was located at the west side of the college cafe, while the barbecue and the outside seating area was positioned at the southest part of the map and both parts are located outside of the cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the cafe redesign, including the addition of the barbecue, outdoor seating, and the reconfiguration of the dining areas. You provided a clear overview of the changes. However, the response lacks a more analytical approach to comparing the two maps. For instance, while you mention the kitchen and toilets remained, you could have more effectively contrasted the spatial distribution of the new facilities against the old layout. The description of the 'hot meals department' being 'flattened' is slightly unclear in terms of spatial transformation. To reach a higher band, ensure that all key features are described with precise spatial references and that the comparison between 'before' and 'after' is more integrated throughout the report.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organized into a logical sequence, moving from an overview to specific details. However, the paragraphing is insufficient; the entire body of the report is contained within one large paragraph, which hinders readability. While you use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'while', the flow is occasionally mechanical. Some sentences are repetitive, such as the repeated mention of 'college cafe' and 'dining rooms'. Improving the use of referencing (e.g., using 'the former' or 'the latter') and breaking the text into distinct paragraphs based on thematic changes would significantly improve the coherence and cohesion of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to describe the changes, such as 'reconstructed', 'repositioned', and 'introduced'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and minor errors, such as 'food taking centre' instead of 'food service area' and 'southest' instead of 'southeast'. Additionally, the phrase 'flattened the hot meals department' is not standard English for describing architectural changes. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations related to map descriptions and avoid repeating the same nouns. Expanding your range of synonyms for 'change' and 'location' will also help you achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. For example, 'there many changes occur' should be 'there are many changes occurring', and 'the area of bin was reconstructed' should be 'the bin area was reconstructed'. There are also issues with article usage ('the barbecue', 'the outdoor seating area') and subject-verb agreement. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score. Focus on proofreading for basic tense consistency and pluralization to improve your accuracy.

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

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