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 two plan show the college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks today.

Overall, the cafe has undergone several changes. The staff dining rooms have been removed and replaced with new food areas. A new outdoor seating area and a barbecue have also been added, while the kitchen, main seating area and toilets have mostly remained in the same places.

Before the redesign, there was a kitchen in the top-left corner with a serving area for all food and drinks. Two staff dining rooms was located in the upper part of the cafe. The centre of the cafe contained tables and chairs, while a bin and toilets were located on the right side.

Today, the serving area has been changed into a hot-meals area. The two staff dining rooms have been replaced by a takeaway food area and a coffee bar. A salad bar has also added along the left wall. In addition, the bin has replaced by recycling bins. In the outside the cafe, there is now a barbecue and an outdoor seating area with many tables and chairs.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the college cafe before and after its redesign, providing clear comparisons between the two layouts. An appropriate overview is included, highlighting key transformations such as the removal of staff dining rooms and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. Main features are well selected, noting the shift from a general serving area to a hot-meals section, the introduction of a salad bar, and changes to the coffee bar and takeaway areas. While the ideas are relevant and generally well supported, some features could be slightly more extended to fully reach the higher band requirements, such as providing more spatial context regarding the placement of the new outdoor elements relative to the building.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response demonstrates a clear overall progression and logical organisation. The text is divided into logical paragraphs: an introduction with an overview, a description of the cafe before the redesign, and a description of the cafe today. Cohesive devices are used adequately to guide the reader through the comparisons, such as 'Before the redesign', 'Today', and 'In addition'. However, paragraphing and referencing can occasionally feel a bit mechanical or formulaic, which prevents the essay from achieving a fully flexible cohesive flow. Pronouns and referencing links are generally clear, but smoother transitions between sentences would elevate the organizational quality further.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate to accomplish the task, demonstrating an appropriate range of terms related to spatial layouts and food service areas, such as 'redesigned', 'serving area', 'takeaway food area', and 'recycling bins'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items, though there are occasional word-choice and word-form errors, such as writing 'The two plan show' (missing plural and article control) and minor passive voice slips like 'has also added' instead of 'has also been added'. These lexical slips do not impede communication, but they reflect a typical profile where vocabulary control shows occasional inaccuracies rather than consistent precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including introductory prepositional phrases and subordinate clauses. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that prevent higher achievement. Examples of these errors include subject-verb agreement issues like 'Two staff dining rooms was located' and passive voice omission errors such as 'the bin has replaced by recycling bins' instead of 'has been replaced'. While the meaning remains clear and communication is rarely impeded, the persistence of these basic structural and grammatical inaccuracies keeps the writing at this specific level of control.

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