Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-01

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 6.5)

The plans show the changes made to a college café before and after its redesign.

Overall, the café has been improved with several new facilities, including a coffee bar, takeaway area, salad bar and outdoor seating. The two staff dining rooms were removed, while the kitchen and toilets remained in the same places.

Before the redesign, there was a serving area for all food and drinks next to the kitchen. In the main seating area, there were two staff dining rooms,

After the redesign, the serving area was changed into a hot-meals section. Two new areas, a takeaway food counter and a coffee bar, were added. A salad bar was also built along the left wall. The old bin was replaced by recycling bins.

Another major change was outside the café. An outdoor seating area with several tables and chairs was created, and a barbecue was added at the bottom left. Overall, the café now offers more facilities for students and staff.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by outlining the main features of the college café before and after its redesign, meeting the requirements of a Band 7. The overview clearly highlights key transformations, such as the addition of new facilities like the coffee bar, takeaway area, salad bar, and outdoor seating, alongside what remained unchanged, such as the kitchen and toilets. The main features are reported accurately, drawing on specific details from the plans. However, to reach a higher band, the development of some details could be extended further, and the progression could be slightly more analytical when contrasting specific spatial shifts across the two layouts rather than listing changes sequentially.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall arrangement, presenting a logical progression from an introductory overview to descriptions of the past layout, current layout, and external changes. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the information logically. Cohesive devices are employed reasonably well to guide the reader through the comparisons, such as 'Before the redesign,' and 'After the redesign.' However, cohesion feels slightly mechanical in places, and paragraphing could be optimized further to connect related functional changes more smoothly, which keeps the response securely within the Band 6.5 range.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying specific architectural and spatial changes using terms like 'redesign,' 'facilities,' 'recycling bins,' and 'outdoor seating.' The student attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'major change' and 'serving area,' with generally appropriate word choice. However, occasional minor inaccuracies or reliance on simpler functional terms prevent the lexical range from achieving higher precision. Spelling and word-choice errors do not impede communication at all, fully reflecting a solid performance at this level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a satisfactory mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating good control over past and present tenses used to describe chronological shifts in the layouts. Structures such as 'The two staff dining rooms were removed, while the kitchen and toilets remained...' show an ability to handle multi-clause sentences. There are some minor grammatical errors or slightly clipped sentence fragments, but they rarely impede communication and do not obscure the meaning. The punctuation is generally accurate, maintaining control throughout the short text.

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

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