Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-28

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 two maps illustrate how college cafe looked before and after being refurbished.

Overall, the college cafe has undergone significant changes, with many original features being removed and replaced. The serving area for all types of food and drinks was replaced by hot meals, and many other facilities have been added in the central area, including takeaway food facilities, a coffee bar and salad bar, while bin and toilets remain unchanged.

Before it was redesigned, there was a space in the kitchen for serving food and drinks replaced by a hot meals area. There are many changes in the center of the café, the rooms fixed for staff dining was replaced by takeaway food and a coffee bar, there was a salad bar added on the northern side of the café. Moreover, the recycling bins, toilets and areas for table and chairs remain unchanged.

Outside of the café, more facilities available after being redesigned, including an outdoor seating area that contains a table in the center and surrounded by chairs. Furthermore, a barbecue area also provided on the north-west corner of the café.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student successfully covers the main features of both maps, highlighting key modifications such as the changes to the kitchen counter, the replacement of the staff dining rooms with a takeaway food counter and coffee bar, and the addition of a salad bar and outdoor seating. An overview is provided in the second paragraph. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in spatial referencing; for instance, the salad bar is located on the western wall rather than the northern side, and the barbecue is placed on the south-west rather than the north-west. Despite these minor misreadings of the visual data, all parts of the prompt are addressed, supporting a solid Band 6.5 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is structured into four paragraphs, following a logical progression from an introductory statement to an overview, followed by indoor changes and finally outdoor additions. Cohesive devices are used to link ideas, such as 'Overall,' 'Before it was redesigned,' and 'Furthermore.' However, paragraphing and referencing are slightly mechanical, and some transitions feel repetitive. Cohesive devices are occasionally overused or imprecise, such as 'There are many changes in the center of the café, the rooms fixed for staff dining was replaced...' which leads to run-on structures. Overall, the organisation is coherent and easy to follow, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, with appropriate functional terms such as 'refurbished,' 'redesigned,' 'facilities,' and 'outdoor seating.' The student attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'undergone significant changes' and 'recycling bins.' However, there are some word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'rooms fixed for staff dining' instead of 'rooms designated for staff dining,' and minor confusions regarding spatial descriptions. Spelling is generally accurate, but the lexical range lacks the precision and flexibility required for a higher band. This corresponds to a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing passive structures effectively in places (e.g., 'has been redesigned', 'being removed and replaced'). However, there are notable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'how college cafe looked' (missing article), 'the rooms fixed for staff dining was replaced' (subject-verb agreement error with plural rooms and singular verb 'was'), and 'more facilities available' (missing verb). Punctuation is mostly acceptable, but comma splices occur, such as in the third paragraph. Because simple structures are generally accurate while complex attempts contain errors, a Band 6.0 is appropriate.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.