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 below illustrate the changes a college cafe underwent and compares how the layout was before and how it is now.

Overall the layout remained the same, with some additions inside and outside the cafe. The kitchen and toilets have remained unchanged. One of the major changes or new addition is the outdoor seating along with a barbecue stall, which increases the number of students the cafe can accomodate. There are two enteries now, in comparison to the one entry before. People can now also move in from the area designated for outdoor seating which was sealed before. As we move inside, on the left side a salad bar has been added which was not there before.

The serving area which served all sorts of food and drinks before has now been designated to only serve hot meals.The staff dining rooms have been replaced by two counters- one for takeaway food and the other for coffee. The bin has now been replaced by a new and improved recycling bin.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response covers all key features of the two diagrams and provides a clear overview of the main changes, fulfilling the requirements for this band level. You successfully highlight the addition of the outdoor seating, barbecue stall, salad bar, and the re-purposing of the staff dining rooms into takeaway and coffee areas. The position and comparisons are presented well throughout. However, to reach a higher level, the description could be extended further by giving more precise details about spatial relationships and the exact transformation of the internal layout rather than generalizing some features. The overview is functional and sets up the comparison effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall arrangement and logical progression from general layout changes to specific interior and exterior modifications. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader through the comparison, such as 'Overall', 'In comparison to', and 'As we move inside'. However, paragraphing is somewhat under-developed, with the entire body of the report crammed into a single block of text rather than being broken down into logical paragraphs for different areas of the cafe. Additionally, referencing could be slightly tighter in places to ensure smoother transitions between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

An adequate range of vocabulary is used to describe the spatial changes, including appropriate terms like 'designated', 're-purposed', and 'accommodate'. There are attempts to use less common items, though some minor spelling errors occur, such as 'accomodate' instead of 'accommodate' and 'enteries' instead of 'entries'. Word choices are generally clear and allow the message to be communicated without impediment, though a wider variety of synonyms for changes and alterations would elevate the lexical range further.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses ('which increases the number of students') and comparative constructions. There is good control over basic grammar and punctuation, and your sentences are generally clear. However, a few minor errors persist, such as missing articles ('a college cafe') and minor punctuation lapses like the missing space after a full stop in 'meals.The staff'. Complex structures are attempted with reasonable success, though maintaining higher accuracy across all complex clauses will help push this score up.

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