Band 9.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 9.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-17

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 9.0)

The plans illustrate the changes that have been made to a college café following its redesign.

Overall, the café has been considerably modernised, with several new facilities added, including a salad bar, takeaway food area, coffee bar and outdoor seating. In contrast, the staff dining rooms and the original serving area have been removed, while the kitchen and toilets have remained in their original locations.

Before the redesign, the kitchen occupied the upper-left corner of the café, with a serving area for all food and drinks directly below it. The majority of the remaining space was used for tables and chairs. In the upper central section, there were two staff dining rooms, while the toilets were situated in the bottom-right corner. A bin was located along the right-hand wall.

Today, the kitchen remains unchanged, but the former serving area has been replaced by an area for hot meals. The two staff dining rooms have been removed and replaced with a takeaway food section and a coffee bar. A salad bar has also been installed along the left-hand wall. On the right side, the original bin has been replaced by recycling bins, while the toilets remain in the same general location.

Another major change is the addition of an outdoor seating area along the bottom of the café, together with a barbecue in the bottom-left corner. The main area continues to contain tables and chairs, although the overall layout has been reorganised to accommodate the new facilities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 9.0

The student has written an excellent response that fully covers all parts of the task. The overview clearly highlights the major transformations, such as the modernisation of the café, the addition of new facilities like the salad bar and outdoor seating, and the removal of the staff dining rooms. The body paragraphs provide a well-organised, accurate comparison between the two plans, correctly noting what has remained unchanged (such as the kitchen and toilets) and what has been altered or replaced. The information is entirely grounded in the visual data provided, with no data misread or invented.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 9.0

The response is exceptionally well-structured and easy to follow. Ideas are logically sequenced, moving smoothly from a general introduction and overview to detailed descriptions of the 'before' and 'after' states. Paragraphing is used appropriately and effectively, with each paragraph serving a distinct purpose in comparing the layouts. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In contrast', 'Before the redesign', and 'Today' are used naturally and unobtrusively to guide the reader through the temporal and spatial changes.

Lexical Resource — Band 8.5

The student demonstrates a wide, flexible, and precise range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic task. Less common lexical items and collocations are used skillfully throughout the text, such as 'considerably modernised', 'accommodate the new facilities', and 'reorganised'. Word choices are accurate, and referencing is handled very naturally without unnatural repetition of terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 9.0

A wide range of complex sentence structures is deployed with a very high degree of accuracy. The response features sophisticated grammatical constructions, such as subordinate clauses ('following its redesign', 'while the kitchen and toilets have remained') and passive forms ('has been installed', 'have been replaced'). Punctuation and grammar are flawless throughout, with error-free sentences dominating the entire piece.

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

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