Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 8.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-14

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 8.0)

The two maps illustrate the layout of a college café before and after it was redesigned.

Overall, the café has been significantly modernised, with several new facilities introduced to improve food services and customer convenience. While the kitchen, the central seating area, and the toilets remained unchanged, the serving area and the staff dining rooms were substantially reorganised.

Before the renovation, the café contained two staff dining rooms on the left-hand side. Following the redesign, these rooms were replaced by a takeaway food counter and a coffee bar. In addition, a new salad bar was installed beside the central seating area. The tables and chairs in the middle of the café remained in the same location throughout the redevelopment.

Outside the café, a new outdoor seating area was added, together with a barbecue area to its left, providing extra dining space for customers. On the right-hand side of the café, the kitchen was left unchanged. However, the serving area was modified to provide only hot meals instead of the wider range of food and drink options available previously. Finally, the toilets, located in the bottom-right corner of the café, remained in their original position.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The student has successfully covered all parts of the task by summarising the main features of the college café before and after its redesign and making relevant comparisons. The overview captures the primary transformation well, noting that the café was modernised with new facilities added. Specific details regarding the changes—such as the replacement of the staff dining rooms with a takeaway counter and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar and outdoor seating area, and the modification of the serving area—are accurately reported and supported by the visual data. The response demonstrates a clear understanding of the input diagrams and fulfils all requirements of Academic Task 1 without any omissions, aligning well with the Band 8 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 8.0

The report exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is grouped sensibly into paragraphs: an introduction, an overall summary, a paragraph detailing the left-hand side changes, and a final paragraph covering the outdoor area and the right-hand side. Cohesive devices are used appropriately and flexibly (e.g., 'Overall', 'While the kitchen...', 'Following the redesign', 'In addition', 'Finally'), ensuring that the relationships between ideas are transparent. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively, contributing to a seamless reading experience where referencing and transitions are well-managed.

Lexical Resource — Band 8.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary suited to describing architectural and spatial changes. Less common items and appropriate functional phrases are used effectively, such as 'significantly modernised', 'substantially reorganised', 'takeaway food counter', and 'original position'. Word choice is generally precise, and collocations are natural (e.g., 'outdoor seating area', 'central seating area'). There are no noticeable spelling or word-choice errors, allowing the response to flow naturally and accurately. This performance is characteristic of a Band 7.5 to 8.0 lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 8.0

A wide range of grammatical structures is used effectively, including complex sentences featuring subordinate clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'While the kitchen, the central seating area, and the toilets remained unchanged, the serving area and the staff dining rooms were substantially reorganised' and 'providing extra dining space for customers'). The majority of sentences are error-free, showcasing a high level of control over past tense forms and passive voice constructions needed for descriptive tasks. Punctuation is accurate, and control of grammar is strong throughout, reflecting the criteria for Band 8.

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