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 a cafe's layout and introduction of new amenities before and after refurbishment.

Overall, the cafe has modernized and expanded with several significant changes and availability of new facilities with eco-friendly bins for recycling.

The cafe before being redesigned was quite simple with a single serving area for all food and drinks. There were two staff dining rooms that were replaced by serving areas. Although, tables and chairs remained in the middle, toilets and bins to the south of the cafe.

After construction, new things added making the cafe appealing to college students. For example, outdoor seating with barbecue introduced to give a modern look. Inside the cafe, there are different serving areas for different categories. For salad, hot meals and coffee there are different areas. Salad bar to the west, hot meals adjacent to the kitchen and coffee bar opposite to the takeaway food. Another substantial change is the transformation of bin to recycling bins. New entrances have built as well near the outdoor seating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main features of the college cafe before and after the redesign and providing relevant comparisons, such as noting that the staff dining rooms were replaced and outdoor seating was added. The overall trend of modernization and expansion is clearly stated. However, some aspects are slightly under-developed or lack precise spatial detail; for instance, describing the transformation of the layout could be extended further to fully capture the extent of the changes. The response meets the requirement for a clear overview and highlights key alterations effectively, sitting comfortably in the middle band for this criterion by fulfilling all basic requirements while showing elements of more detailed task coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a logical progression from an introductory summary to the 'before' layout and finally the current features. Paragraphing is utilized to separate different sections of the response. Cohesive devices are employed, though referencing and transitional phrases can occasionally feel somewhat mechanical or basic, such as 'After construction' or 'For example'. While the flow of information is generally easy to follow, the progression between sentences could be smoothed with more sophisticated referencing to achieve a higher level of cohesion. Overall, the organizational structure is clear and serves the purpose of the report adequately.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'refurbishment', 'modernized', and 'eco-friendly'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice, collocation, and phrasing, such as 'introduction of new amenities' or 'transformation of bin to recycling bins' instead of 'bins were replaced by recycling facilities'. Spelling is generally accurate, and vocabulary errors do not impede communication. To reach a higher standard, the writer needs to incorporate a wider range of precise lexical items and demonstrate more natural collocation when describing spatial changes and architectural features in academic contexts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory phrases reasonably well. There are some grammatical errors in article usage, prepositions, and verb forms, such as 'New entrances have built as well near the outdoor seating' (missing passive voice) and omitting necessary articles like 'a cafe's layout'. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to grasp the intended comparisons easily. Punctuation is generally functional. To progress further, the writer should aim for a higher frequency of error-free complex structures and tighter control over voice and article consistency.

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