Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-18

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 6.5)

The plans illustrates the college café before and after it has been redesigned.

Overall, the arrangement slightly changed by adding an outdoor seating area and redesigning the interior space.

Firstly, before the café has been redesigned, the kitchen space included a serving area containing all the different types of food and beverages. However, the café today offers only hot meals in the kitchen area and added a salad bar in the main hall. Moreover, previously, the main hall contained two smallers rooms that were reserved for the staff. Nowadays, these rooms have transformed into a take away food space and a coffee bar. While the toilets have remained at the same location as before, the café has upgraded its regular bins to recycling bins. The main tables and chars in the café have remained in the same space. Additionally, there has been an extension to the space by adding an outdoor seating area and a barbecue.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by comparing the college cafe before and after its redesign. The overview clearly highlights the main changes, such as the addition of outdoor seating and interior modifications. Key features, including the relocation of the serving area into hot meals and a salad bar, the transformation of staff rooms into a take away food space and coffee bar, and the addition of a barbecue, are accurately reported. The information is fully grounded in the visual data without missing major changes, satisfying the requirements for a high band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The text is logically organised into an introduction, an overview, and a detailed body paragraph. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the comparison, using transition markers such as 'Overall', 'Firstly', 'However', 'Moreover', and 'Additionally'. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and referencing (e.g., 'these rooms', 'the same location') is clear throughout the response, ensuring a clear progression of ideas from the past layout to the present one.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate and appropriate range of vocabulary for describing maps and spatial changes, such as 'redesigned', 'arrangement', 'transformation', and 'extension'. There are occasional slight lexical inaccuracies or awkward collocations, such as 'main tables and chars' (typographical error for chairs) and 'smallers rooms'. However, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning with acceptable precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms with varying success. There are several grammatical and mechanical errors, particularly regarding tense consistency in passive and active structures, such as 'The plans illustrates' (subject-verb agreement) and 'before the café has been redesigned' (incorrect tense shift). Despite these errors, they do not impede communication, and the message remains clear.

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

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