Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-09-30

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 given maps illustrate a college cafe before and after the remodeling.

Overall, there have been major redevelopments in the college cafe. The earlier design only utilixed the indoor area whereas the new design maximized the space usage to outdoors as well. The previous plan provided basic structure, not using the space optimally, however, the new plan has a separate area assigned to various aspects of the cafe, making it more efficient.

The original design of the college cafe had a separate room for kitchen and serving area where all food and drinks were served. As well as, a bigger area with tables and chairs for catering with two staff dinig rooms, a small place for bin and a room for toilets.

The reimagined structure of cafe has the kitchen, catering area and the toilets in the same place and the serving area converted to the hot meals section. Additionally, the two staff dining rooms are now used as take away food and coffee bar rooms respectively. There is a salad bar right outside the kitchen and recycling bins in place of a small bin. The biggest advancement is the outdoor seating area with a barbecue section.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by summarising the main features of the college cafe before and after the redesign, and provides effective comparisons. An overview is clearly presented in the second paragraph, capturing the main trend of extending the space and improving efficiency. Key features such as the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take-away food and coffee bar section, the addition of a salad bar, and the new outdoor seating area with a barbecue are accurately reported and supported by the visual data. The response meets all requirements for Task Achievement at a Band 7.0 level, as it covers all parts of the prompt well with clear supporting details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory overview, moves into a description of the original layout, and concludes with the updated features. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different sections of the response. Cohesive devices are generally well managed, with phrases like 'The original design', 'The reimagined structure', and 'Additionally' guiding the reader smoothly through the comparison. However, cohesion occasionally feels slightly mechanical, and referencing could be more refined in places, aligning the response with a Band 7.0 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating less common lexical items such as 'redevelopments', 'optimal', 'reimagined structure', and 'recycling bins'. There are occasional slight inaccuracies in word choice or collocation, such as 'utilixed' (a typo for utilised) and 'staff dinig rooms' (a typo for dining). Despite these minor errors, the vocabulary is varied enough to allow for precise description and adequate flexibility, fitting the Band 6.5 descriptor well. We will round this to a solid Band 6.0 due to recurring mechanical spelling slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases (e.g., 'The earlier design only utilixed the indoor area whereas the new design maximized the space usage'). There are some grammatical errors and typos present, such as 'utilixed', 'dinig', and missing articles or prepositions in phrases like 'structure of cafe' instead of 'structure of the cafe'. However, these errors rarely impede communication, and many sentences remain error-free, representing a typical Band 6.5 grammatical performance which translates to a Band 6.5 score.

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

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