Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-26

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 map illustrates changes done to a college café. It shows two plans, one of them is the café before redesign and the present café.

Overall, it is evident that the café had been modernised. Staff dining rooms have been converted into a coffee bar and takeaway food outlet. Outdoor seating for everyone is now available and several shops like salad bar and barbecues have been built.

With reference to the café’s older map, it is clear that there was only one area for college students to buy food and drinks. Moreover, there were only two staff dining rooms. Toilets remained unchanged in both maps and the bin was removed and a new recycling bin was added.

Furthermore, the serving area was rebuilt into hot meals. New spots were added, especially salad bars and barbecue sections. Additionally, outdoor seating was arranged and made available for both staff and students. Staff dining rooms were reconstructed into coffee bars and takeaway sections.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers all the key changes shown in the two maps, successfully identifying the conversion of the staff dining rooms into takeaway and coffee bar areas, the addition of the salad bar and outdoor seating, and the retention of certain features like the toilets. The overview correctly highlights the general modernisation of the café. However, there is a minor imprecision in the reporting when the student refers to the salad bar and barbecues as 'shops', which is not entirely accurate given the context of a college campus. Nonetheless, the task is addressed well with clear comparisons made between the past and present layouts, satisfying the requirements for Band 6.5 to 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is organized into four logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction, followed by an overview, and then detailing specific spatial changes in the subsequent body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'With reference to the café’s older map', and 'Furthermore' are used to guide the reader through the comparison. However, paragraphing could be slightly more refined, and some transitional phrases feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, allowing the reader to easily track the spatial modifications between the two plans.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully employing terms related to architectural and spatial transformations, such as 'modernised', 'converted', 'reconstructed', and 'remained unchanged'. There are, however, some slight lexical inaccuracies, such as calling the salad bar and barbecue 'shops', and the phrase 'changes done to' which is slightly unnatural compared to 'changes made to'. Despite these minor flaws, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'It shows two plans, one of them is the café before redesign and the present café' (which contains a minor comma splice) and 'Staff dining rooms have been converted into a coffee bar and takeaway food outlet.' Grammatical control is reasonably good, with accurate use of the present perfect passive ('have been converted') and past simple ('was rebuilt'). While occasional errors persist, they do not impede communication and the majority of simple structures are error-free.

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

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