Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-23
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 illustrate the changes made to a college cafe and compare its layout before and after the redesign.
Overall, the cafe has been expanded and now offers a wider range of food and seating facilities. While the kitchen and toilets remained unchanged, the former serving area and staff dining rooms have been converted into new food-serving areas and several new facilities have been added.
The cafe had a kitchen on the north-western side of the area which remained in the same position, but the serving area for all food and drink next to it has been changed into a compartment for hot meals. Earlier two rooms served as staff dining rooms but now one of them is converted into a takeaway-food area, while the other is now a coffee bar. Moreover, the bin on the south-eastern side of the cafe has been converted into recycling bins.
Although toilets in the eastern corner were retained, a new entrance has been added nearby. A salad bar has also been added in the south-western side of the tables and chairs area. An exit has been installed on the southern side, providing access to the outdoor seating area. The cafe has also been expanded to south, where a new barbecue are and outdoor seating have been created.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
The student covers all parts of the task well, successfully outlining the main changes between the two plans. The overview is clear and concise, noting the expansion and addition of new facilities. The student accurately reports that the kitchen remained unchanged while former areas like the staff dining rooms and serving counter were repurposed into a takeaway area, coffee bar, and hot meals section. Furthermore, features such as the salad bar, recycling bins, outdoor seating, and barbecue area are correctly identified and located. The response is fully grounded in the provided visual data, showing a strong ability to select and report relevant spatial information without missing key structural transformations.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response is logically organized with a clear progression from an introductory overview to specific spatial descriptions. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the discussion of indoor transformations from newly added outdoor features. Cohesive devices such as 'While', 'Moreover', and 'Although' are employed effectively to link ideas and contrast spatial changes, though occasional referencing could be slightly smoother. Overall, the essay flows well and is easy to follow, satisfying the requirements for a coherent and well-structured report.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.5
The student demonstrates a sufficient and flexible range of vocabulary suited to describing spatial changes and architectural layouts, using terms like 'reconfigured', 'converted', 'retained', and 'access'. There are occasional slight lexical inaccuracies, such as 'barbecue are' (typographical error for area) and 'expanded to south' (missing article 'the'), but these do not impede communication. Less common vocabulary items are attempted with a reasonable degree of awareness regarding style and collocation, reflecting a solid Band 7 performance in lexical resource.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5
The essay displays a good mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including subordinate clauses ('While the kitchen and toilets remained unchanged...', 'Although toilets in the eastern corner were retained...'). The majority of sentences are grammatically sound and easy to understand. There are a few minor grammatical slips, such as the omission of an article in 'expanded to south' and a minor tense inconsistency ('Earlier two rooms served... but now one of them is converted'). However, these errors do not impede communication and punctuation is generally well controlled.
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