Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-02

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 diagram compares the plan of a college cafe before and after it undergoes redesigning.

Overall, the cafe showed a significant improvement by replacing the serving area with hot meals area and staff dining rooms with take away food and coffee bar. Another major change was the addition of salad bar, recycling bins, barbeque and outdoor seating.

Before redesigning, there was food and drink serving area besides the kitchen at top left. While staff dining rooms were located in the center along with tables and chair area. There is a bin at right corner with toilets at the bottom.

After redesigning, the whole structure is improved by addition of hot meals area besides kitchen at top left corner and take away food and coffee bar built in the center. The recycling bins are placed at right corner facing salad bar at left corner and toilets at the bottom. There is new addition of outdoor sitting and barbeque area along the left wall of cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by summarizing the main features of the college cafe before and after its redesign, and it makes relevant comparisons. However, some aspects of the visual data are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, the student states that the outdoor seating and barbecue area are located along the left wall of the cafe, whereas the visual plan clearly places them to the south (exterior) of the building. Furthermore, the overview captures the main transformations effectively, but misses a few key spatial shifts, keeping the task response at the mid-level. To reach a higher band, all spatial descriptions must accurately reflect the visual data without directional errors, and the key changes should be supported by clearer detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, an overview paragraph, and distinct body paragraphs for the 'before' and 'after' states, showing the characteristics of the higher band. Information and ideas are logically sequenced. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, particularly in referencing and transitions between sentences (e.g., abrupt shifts like 'Before redesigning...' and 'After redesigning...'). Paragraphing is used appropriately, but transitional phrases could be varied more flexibly to enhance the flow. To achieve a higher level, the use of cohesive devices needs to be less repetitive and mechanical, creating a smoother progression throughout the response.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'redesigning', 'transformation', and specific room labels. However, there are some word choice and word form errors that occasionally show up, such as 'outdoor sitting' instead of 'outdoor seating' and repetitive use of basic descriptors. Spelling is generally acceptable and communication is not impeded by lexical errors. To move to a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider and more precise range of less common vocabulary with better control over collocations and word forms, avoiding awkward phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases. There are some grammatical errors in article usage, prepositions, and verb forms—for instance, missing articles in 'by addition of hot meals area' and minor tense inconsistencies. Nevertheless, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the descriptions easily. To reach the next level, the writer should aim for a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences and demonstrate tighter control over articles and prepositions within grammatical patterns.

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

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