Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-29

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 diagram illustrates the renovation of a college café from the past to the present. Overall, the diagram shows the renovation of the college café and the new additions made to the cafeteria. The visuals describe the differences before and after the redesign. Firstly, when you enter the café where seating is located, tables and chairs are situated there. On the east side, toilets are located, and a bin is situated in front of the toilets. On the north side of the door, the staff dining room is located. On the western side, a door is located which provides access to the kitchen situated on the north side of the door, and the serving area for food and beverages is located on the western side of the door. After the modifications, there are several entry and exit points located in the cafeteria. As you enter the café from the eastern side, the bins and toilets remain in their previous places. The staff dining room has been redesigned into a coffee bar and takeaway food area just adjacent to the coffee shop. The kitchen and serving area remain the same. In front of the kitchen door, a salad bar is located, and adjacent to the toilet is a door that leads to the outdoor seating. In the north, a barbecue stall is located, while the indoor seating area remains in the same place.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers the main features of the college café before and after the redesign, noting key transformations such as the addition of the salad bar, coffee bar, takeaway area, and outdoor seating with a barbecue. However, the overview is repetitive, and the response lacks a clear, synthesized summary of the overall changes. The student describes the layout in a somewhat mechanical, step-by-step spatial manner (e.g., 'when you enter the café... on the east side... on the north side') rather than effectively grouping and highlighting the major structural shifts. Furthermore, there is a slight spatial confusion regarding the barbecue and outdoor seating locations. Despite these limitations, all parts of the prompt are addressed, fulfilling the requirements for Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay is coherent overall and follows a logical spatial progression, moving from the past layout to the present layout. However, paragraphing is poorly managed; the entire body of the text is presented in a single, dense block without clear paragraph breaks to separate the introduction, the 'before' description, the 'after' description, and the overview. Cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive and mechanical (e.g., 'On the east side', 'On the north side', 'After the modifications'), and referencing is occasionally basic. While the progression of ideas is understandable, the lack of paragraphing and somewhat repetitive cohesive ties restrict the score to Band 5.5.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully using terms related to spatial layouts and building features such as 'renovation', 'cafeteria', 'modifications', and 'accessible'. However, the vocabulary is frequently repetitive, relying heavily on words like 'located', 'situated', and 'area'. There are minor collocation issues, such as 'barbecue stall' instead of 'barbecue area', but these do not impede communication. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of less common vocabulary and synonyms to describe changes over time.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'when you enter the café where seating is located, tables and chairs are situated there.' There is good control over basic grammar, and sentences are generally comprehensible. However, structures tend to be somewhat repetitive in their construction, frequently starting with prepositional phrases of place. While there are no severe grammatical errors that impede communication, the lack of advanced syntactic variety and occasional wordiness keep the score at Band 6.0.

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

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