Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The plans illustrate the layout of a college cafe before and after it was redesigned.

Overall, the cafe has undergone a significant change. Previous serving area converted into hot meals section and the staff dinining rooms are seperated into two new spaces, take away and coffee bar. On the other hand, a salad bar , a barbecue and outdoor seating areas have been added after the redevelopment.

Firstly, the food and drink serving area with the kitchen has turned into a hot meals zone for the customer. The dining spaces for staff have transformed into two new sections, food take away and coffee bar respectively. The bin infront of the toilets is now recycle bin.

Secondly, a new salad bar has been in introduced to the customer infront of the hot meal section. Similarly, a barbecue zone with outdoor seating facilities included after redesign. However, the kitchen, toilets and indoor seating areas remained unchanged after the transformation of the college cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all parts of the task by selecting and reporting the main features of the college cafe before and after its redesign. An appropriate overview is provided at the beginning, outlining the significant changes that occurred. Key features such as the conversion of the serving area into hot meals, the transformation of staff dining rooms into a take away and coffee bar, and the addition of the salad bar, barbecue, and outdoor seating are clearly identified and contrasted. However, some aspects of the information are slightly under-developed; for example, the description of unchanged areas like the kitchen and toilets is brief and could be better integrated into a more sophisticated comparative analysis. Nevertheless, the response fully meets the requirements for a clear general overview and addresses the main visual data accurately, bridging into higher-band territory with its clear selection of salient features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text displays a coherent overall arrangement with a clear chronological or spatial progression from the introductory summary to the body paragraphs detailing specific changes. Paragraphing is used adequately, separating the introduction, the main body points, and the concluding details. Cohesive devices are employed to signal transitions, such as 'Overall', 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'On the other hand', although some referencing and transitional links feel slightly mechanical or repetitive. For instance, the transition between sentences in the body paragraphs occasionally lacks smooth flow, and referencing between ideas can be slightly abrupt. To reach higher bands, the response would benefit from more varied and flexible cohesive devices that integrate information more fluidly without relying on basic listing markers.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to use less common items such as 'redesigned', 'redevelopment', 'transformed', and 'facilities'. However, there are notable inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and word form throughout the text. Examples include 'dinining' (spelling error), 'seperated' (spelling error), 'food take away' (awkward collocation instead of 'takeaway food'), 'infront of' (spacing and preposition error), and 'recycle bin' instead of 'recycling bin'. Furthermore, phrases like 'has been in introduced to the customer' demonstrate awkward phrasing and lexical control limitations. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to the current level, as more precision and natural collocation are required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structural patterns. There are instances of successful complex constructions, such as 'The plans illustrate the layout of a college cafe before and after it was redesigned.' However, grammatical errors are present throughout the text, including missing articles ('Previous serving area converted', 'a salad bar, a barbecue and outdoor seating areas have been added'), omitted auxiliary verbs ('a new salad bar has been in introduced'), and awkward passive constructions ('a barbecue zone with outdoor seating facilities included after redesign'). While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they occur regularly enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band. Greater accuracy in articles, verb forms, and passive structures is needed to move up.

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

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