Band 8.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 8.0 · 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 8.0)
The provided floor plans illustrate the layout of a college café before its renovation and how it has been modified.
Overall, the café has undergone significant structural transformations, most notably expanding outward to include an outdoor terrace. While the core kitchen, main indoor seating, and toilet facilities have remained in their original locations, the interior food-service counters and staff rooms have been entirely reconfigured to offer a more specialized dining experience.
Looking at the interior changes in detail, the original general serving area situated directly outside the kitchen has been converted into a dedicated space for hot meals. Additionally, a brand-new salad bar has been installed along the western wall of the main dining hall. The two enclosed staff dining rooms, which previously occupied the upper section of the plan, have been removed and replaced by a takeaway food counter and a coffee bar. Furthermore, the single waste bin near the toilets has been upgraded to a set of recycling bins.
The most striking addition to the layout is the creation of an outdoor seating and barbecue area accessible via newly installed doors on the southern exterior wall. This open-air space features a barbecue station and multiple tables of varying sizes, significantly increasing the overall seating capacity of the facility.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 8.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 7.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 8.0 |
| Overall | 8.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0
The candidate has provided an excellent response that fully covers all parts of the task. The overview clearly highlights the major structural changes, such as the addition of the outdoor terrace and the reconfiguration of internal food counters and staff rooms. Specific details, such as the conversion of the serving area to a hot meals counter, the introduction of a salad bar, and the replacement of staff rooms with a takeaway counter and coffee bar, are accurately reported and contrasted with the previous layout. The features are well-selected and directly supported by the visual data without any noticeable misinterpretations or omissions.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5
The response demonstrates a logical organization with a clear progression throughout. It opens with an introductory paraphrase, moves into a well-crafted overview paragraph, details the interior changes, and concludes with the exterior modifications. Cohesive devices such as 'while', 'additionally', 'furthermore', and 'the most striking addition' are used skillfully and unobtrusively. Paragraphing is handled appropriately, ensuring that each distinct section of the plans is discussed in a structured and easy-to-follow manner.
Lexical Resource: Band 7.5
The vocabulary used is varied, precise, and highly appropriate for an academic task. The student successfully employs less common lexical items and functional collocations such as 'structural transformations', 'reconfigured', 'specialized dining experience', and 'capacity of the facility'. Word choice is accurate throughout, and there are no spelling or collocation errors that impede communication. The range displayed comfortably meets the criteria for a high band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 8.0
The response features a wide range of complex sentence structures used with a high degree of accuracy. The majority of sentences are error-free, and the writer demonstrates strong control over tense usage when contrasting past and present layouts (e.g., 'which previously occupied', 'have been removed and replaced'). Punctuation is used correctly to support the flow of complex ideas. Only very occasional, non-systematic errors could be imagined, but the overall execution is extremely polished.
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