Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 diagrams illustrate the layout of a college cafe prior its renovation and its current appearance.

Overall, cafe has undergone substantial modification with most areas being replaced by modern amenities.

In past, there was a kitchen at the top of the building with the serving area in proximity, which served all food and beverages. In the main area, there were tables and chairs in the center. Furthermore, above the main area, two staff dining rooms were featured. To the right, bin is located between the main entrance to the cafe at the top and toiletries were at the bottom.

Currently, single serving area converted into hot meals counters which is attached with kitchen. Two staff dinning rooms have been removed by take away food and coffee bar now occupied their space. In addition, salad bar has been installed by the left-hand wall which makes indoor seating area slightly smaller. On the right-side simple bin has been transformed into row of recycling bins.

The most striking change is outside the building. A barbecue and several seats and tables have been added along the bottom of plan, providing outdoor seating area that did not exist before.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the college cafe before and after its redesign, making relevant comparisons throughout. The overview clearly highlights that the cafe underwent substantial modifications with modern amenities added. Key changes such as the replacement of staff dining rooms with a takeaway food counter and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, and the introduction of an outdoor seating area and barbecue are accurately reported. There are minor phrasing inaccuracies like 'toiletries' instead of 'toilets', but the overall information is well-selected, grounded in the visual data, and fully satisfies the requirements of Task 1.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organised and easy to follow, moving clearly from an introduction to the general overview, the previous layout, the current layout, and finally the striking outdoor changes. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sections of the report. Cohesive devices are employed with reasonable success (e.g., 'Overall', 'In past', 'Currently', 'In addition'), though some transitions are slightly mechanical or lack articles ('In past', 'On the right-side'). Overall, the logical progression is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 7 descriptor.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suited to describing spatial changes and architectural layouts, using terms such as 'substantial modification', 'amenities', 'installed', and 'transformed'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'prior its renovation' (missing 'to'), 'toiletries' instead of 'toilets', and minor omissions of articles (e.g., 'Overall, cafe has...'). Despite these occasional inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly, aligning well with a Band 6.0 performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'which served all food and beverages', 'that did not exist before'). However, grammatical errors are fairly frequent, including missing prepositions and articles (e.g., 'prior its renovation', 'bin is located', 'single serving area converted'), as well as tense inconsistencies ('Two staff dinning rooms have been removed by take away food and coffee bar now occupied their space'). These errors do not impede overall communication, but they prevent the score from reaching Band 7.

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

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