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 plans below show a redevelopment of a college cafe comparing its layout before and after the renovation.

Overall, the cafe has undergone with the significant changes. The serving area and staff dining rooms have been replaced by hot meals, take away food, and a coffee bar. In addition, a salad bar and a recycling bins have been added while a outdoor seating area have been introduced alongwith barbecue on the southern part of the cafe.

In original plan, the kitchen was placed on the north-western corner of the cafe, a serving area below it. A staff dining room was located in the upper- right section. A toilet at the south-eastern corner and a bin attached with wall.

In the redesigned plan, the serving area has been converted into hot meals while the two staff dining rooms have been replaced by a take away food and a coffee bar. A salad bar have been added on the western side and a recycling bin have been installed on the eastern side of the cafe.Additionally, a beverage area with outdoor seating have been added on the southern end.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The candidate successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview of the main changes and reporting the key features of the college cafe before and after the redesign. The overall trend of transformation—such as the conversion of the serving area and staff dining rooms into specialized food counters, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue—is well summarized. However, there are a few minor inaccuracies and omissions in the detailed descriptions, such as misidentifying the location of the staff dining rooms (which were along the north wall, not just the upper-right section) and slight confusion regarding the outdoor areas. Despite these minor lapses, the response covers the visual data adequately and presents a clear comparison, meeting the requirements for Band 6.5 to 7.0. Given the solid overview and relevant feature selection, it fits comfortably into Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is organized logically into four paragraphs, moving from an introduction and overview to specific body paragraphs detailing the 'before' and 'after' layouts. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'In addition', 'In original plan', and 'In the redesigned plan'. However, paragraphing and referencing can occasionally feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. For instance, transitional phrases are sometimes overused or formulaic, and sentence structures within the body paragraphs lack smooth linking. While the overall arrangement is coherent and easy to follow, the minor awkwardness in paragraph transitions and referencing keeps this criterion at Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The candidate demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing maps and plans, using terms such as 'redevelopment', 'renovation', 'converted', and 'installed'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'undergone with the significant changes', 'a recycling bins', 'while a outdoor seating', and 'a beverage area'. These errors do not impede communication, but they show a lack of precise control over articles and prepositions when attempting less common vocabulary. Because the vocabulary is sufficient for the task but marred by frequent word-choice and grammatical-form slips, a score of 6.0 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing passive structures ('have been replaced', 'have been added') and prepositional phrases. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several clear errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('a recycling bins have been added', 'a salad bar have been added', 'outdoor seating area have been introduced'), incorrect articles ('a outdoor seating'), and redundant prepositions ('undergone with'). Although these errors rarely impede overall comprehension, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from reaching Band 6.5. Therefore, a band score of 6.0 reflects this mix of sentence types and persistent errors.

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

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