Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

This diagram illustrates the layout of college cafeteria before its renovation and its current new design with some specific changes.

Overall, it is fully developed now with added facilities for customers and resulting in a more spacious layout. In terms of seating, outdoor dining option have been introduced, while a coffee bar and a take away food sections have been added to the indoor space.

The specfic location of the kitchen remains unchanged; however, the serving area counter has been changed into hot meals in the current infrastructure. A salad bar has been introduced indoors. In the old building there was only one entrance. however, new building features three distinct entrance gates. Finally, the original bin area has been upgraded into a recycling station and former staff dining rooms are no longer visible in the new design.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student addresses the task by summarising the main changes between the two plans, noting key additions such as the outdoor seating, barbecue area, salad bar, and coffee bar, alongside the persistence of the kitchen. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, capturing the expanded facilities and more spacious layout. However, the response falls short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 137 words. Furthermore, there is a slight misinterpretation regarding entrances, as the transcription and plan show the original building also had multiple access points or doors. Because the length requirement is not met and certain details are slightly inaccurate, the score is limited to band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The text is logically organised into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and a detailed body paragraph. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall', 'In terms of seating', and 'Finally'. Paragraphing is appropriate for a short response. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes a bit mechanical, and the flow is slightly disjointed in the final paragraph. Overall progression is clear enough to follow easily, satisfying the requirements for band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing a map comparison, using terms like 'renovation', 'infrastructure', 'recycled station', and 'distinct'. There are some minor lexical errors or awkward collocations, such as 'entrance gates' rather than doors, and 'specfic' (which is also a typo). Less common vocabulary is attempted with reasonable success, allowing the response to comfortably meet the criteria for band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'This diagram illustrates the layout of college cafeteria before its renovation...' and '...outdoor dining option have been introduced, while a coffee bar and a take away food sections have been added...'. There are a few grammatical errors, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'dining option have been' and 'a take away food sections', plus a missing article in 'layout of college cafeteria'. Punctuation is generally fine, and meaning is not impeded, leading to a band 6.0 score.

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

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