Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-22

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 maps illustrate the changes that took place in a collage cafe before and how it looks now.

Overall, the area underwent substantial redevelopment, with several new facilities being introduced and some existing features being removed or relocated. The most significant changes involved outdoor seating with barbecue and take away foodas well as a coffee bar.

In the northern part of the area, kitchen remained largely unchanged. However, serving area was demolished and replaced by hot meals. In addition, salad bar was constructed adjacent to the kitchen area. The area leading to a staff dining rooms were also replaced by take awayfood and a coffee bar.

Turning to the southern section, the most notable development was the expansio of the layout into the outdoor seating with barbecue. Meanwhile, tables and chairs and toilets were retained in its original position. Furthermore, the size of bins was enlarged to make way for more sufficicient use. As a result, the area became considerably more developed.

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. An effective overview is provided, highlighting key developments such as the introduction of outdoor seating, a barbecue, a coffee bar, and take away food. The main body paragraphs accurately trace the modifications made to the kitchen area, the replacement of the former staff dining rooms with food and drink outlets, and the addition of a salad bar and outdoor facilities. However, there are a few minor inaccuracies in article usage and pluralization when describing specific features, such as omitting necessary articles or misidentifying singular/plural forms (e.g., 'kitchen remained largely unchanged' instead of 'the kitchen'). Despite these minor flaws, all major spatial transformations are clearly reported and well-supported by the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory paragraph paraphrasing the prompt, followed by a concise overview. The subsequent paragraphs logically divide the cafe into northern and southern sections to describe spatial changes clearly. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'Meanwhile', and 'Furthermore' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the comparison. Paragraphing is sufficient and logical, separating the introduction/overview from the body details. However, occasional referencing slips occur, such as using 'its original position' (singular) to refer to plural items like 'tables and chairs and toilets'. Overall, the structure ensures easy navigation of the visual data.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic task, incorporating functional terms such as 'substantial redevelopment', 'demolished', 'relocated', and 'expansion'. Less common lexical items are attempted with some awareness of style and collocation, such as 'consequently' or 'sufficicient use'. However, there are a few lexical errors and typographical slips, notably the spelling error 'sufficicient' and the minor typo 'collage cafe' in the opening sentence instead of 'college cafe'. Word choice is generally adequate to convey the intended meaning without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and prepositional phrases effectively (e.g., 'The maps illustrate the changes that took place in a college cafe...'). There is good control of past tense verbs used for describing the historical changes. However, there are several grammatical inaccuracies throughout the text, particularly missing articles (e.g., 'serving area was demolished', 'salad bar was constructed', 'staff dining rooms') and minor agreement errors (e.g., 'the area leading to a staff dining rooms were'). While these errors are frequent enough to prevent a higher band score, they rarely impede overall communication or obscure the meaning of the report.

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

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