Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-24

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 plan illustrates the changes in a college cafe design before and it after it was renovated.

Overall, the renovated cafe is structurally somewhat similar to cafe before redesign, with an addition of salad bar, and using staff dining rooms for other purposes. The major addition is the outdoor seating and barbecue area.

The entrance and exit to the cafe are to the left of the building is same, where upon entering, bins, currently recycling bins, are placed. Moving downward from the entrance, there are toilets. Moving to the left of the café from entrance, tables and chairs are placed, same location in both designs. However, rooms used for staff dining are repurposed for take away food and coffee bar.

Further moving to the left, a salad bar is introduced in redesigned cafe, which was not present before renovation. On the top side of Salad bar, a door leads to serving area with kitchen. However, serving area is relabeled to hot meals in new design.

The most noticeable change is the outdoor seating and barbecue area, which was not available before redesign. With this new addition, two entrances are also introduced on the bottom side of the cafe. Moving downward from salad bar or just by the toilets, doors leading to outdoor seating. On the extreme left side barbecue is installed, away from seating area.

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 overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting key structural similarities and major additions such as the outdoor seating and barbecue area. Specific changes are noted, including the replacement of staff dining rooms with a take-away food counter and coffee bar, the addition of a salad bar, and the re-labeling of the serving area to hot meals. The information is generally accurate and well-grounded in the visual data, though the description of spatial locations could be slightly more concise. The response effectively covers all relevant comparative details, meeting the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is logically organised, progressing from an introductory overview to detailed spatial descriptions of the interior and exterior changes. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, overview, and body details. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader through the map, such as 'Moving downward', 'Further moving to the left', and 'The most noticeable change'. However, some referencing is slightly clunky or repetitive (e.g., repeated use of 'moving to the left'), which prevents the cohesion from feeling entirely natural. Nevertheless, clear progression is maintained throughout, fitting the Band 6.5 to 7.0 profile well.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a map description, incorporating terms such as 'renovated', 'structurally', 'repurposed', 'reintroduced', and 'adjacent'. There are occasional awkward word choices and minor phrasing errors, such as 'before and it after it was renovated' and 'to the left of the building is same', as well as missing articles ('with an addition of salad bar'). Despite these minor inaccuracies, the lexical resource is sufficient to convey the intended meanings clearly and attempts less common vocabulary with general success, aligning with Band 6.5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'which was not present before renovation', 'Moving downward from salad bar'). Control of grammar is generally fair, but there are several noticeable errors involving missing prepositions, articles, and awkward phrasing, such as 'cafe before redesign' (missing article), 'is same', and dangling modifiers in sentences like 'Moving downward from salad bar or just by the toilets, doors leading to outdoor seating' (lacking a main verb). These errors do not impede overall communication, but they occur with enough frequency to cap the grammar score at Band 6.0.

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

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