Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-13

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 plans illustrate the layout of a college cafe prior to its design and its current layout.

Overall, the cafe undergone significant modernisation and expansion. The single serving area and staff dinning room dining room have been replaced with specialised food and beverage station, while a new salad bar and a out door seating area with a barbecue have been introduced.

In the original design, a single serving area located in the directly below the kitchen catered for all food and drinks. Following the redesign, this space has been dedicated specially to hot meals. Additionally, a new salad bar has been installed along the left wall of the central seating area.

The two staff dinning room previously located on the upper right section of the cafe have been removed and replaced by take away food and coffee bar. Along the right wall the single bin has been replaced by recycling facilities. The kitchen, toilets and tables and chair in the centre of cafe remain unchanged.

The main layout features and extension with outdoor barbecue zone and and out seating area. While a new outdoor area significantly increases the cafe's total seating capacity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview of the changes made to the college cafe. The candidate effectively selects and reports the main features, such as the introduction of the new salad bar, takeaway food and coffee bar, and the outdoor seating and barbecue area, while noting features that remained unchanged like the kitchen and toilets. Comparisons between the before and after plans are integrated well throughout the body paragraphs. While some descriptions could be slightly more detailed to reach a higher band, the overall treatment of the visual information satisfies the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organised with a clear overall progression. An introductory paragraph outlines the purpose of the essay, followed by a general overview paragraph, and then detailed body paragraphs that describe specific changes. Cohesive devices are used adequately, such as 'In the original design,' 'Following the redesign,' and 'Additionally,' which help guide the reader through the comparison. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different zones of the cafe. However, minor referencing issues and slightly disjointed sentences in the concluding sections prevent the response from achieving a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe spatial changes and features, utilising terms such as 'modernisation,' 'expansion,' 'specialised,' and 'recycling facilities.' There are, however, several lexical errors and awkward collocations, such as 'prior to its design' instead of 'prior to its redesign,' 'staff dinning room dining room,' 'station' instead of 'stations,' 'an out door seating,' and 'take away food and coffee bar.' Despite these inaccuracies, the vocabulary is adequate for the task and communication is generally unimpeded, fitting the Band 6.0 criteria.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including introductory prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'While a new outdoor area significantly increases the cafe's total seating capacity'). However, there are noticeable grammatical and mechanical errors throughout the text, such as 'the cafe undergone significant' (missing auxiliary verb 'has'), 'staff dinning room' (pluralisation error), 'located in the directly below' (extra article), and repeated punctuation or spacing mistakes. These errors indicate a lack of full grammatical control, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.

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

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