Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-05
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 given floor plan illustrates the changes made to a college cafe after redesigning it.
Overall, the cafe got more advanced with multiple food options than before seperated in various departments, area outside off the cafe is also utilised, with a sustainable idea of introducing recycling bins.
Firstly, observing the upper half of the cafe. While the kitchen and the entry gate is as it is. The serving area where all food and drink were served is now converted into hot meals section and the Staff dining rooms are replaced with Take away food room and a Coffee bar.
Turning to the southern part of the cafe, the tables and chairs are still present in the centre of the cafe as well as toilets are still there where they were before in the bottom right corner. However bin is replaced with recycling bins and a salad bar section is introduced all the way to left with the wall. With these changes, we can see an amazing addtion of Barbecue with outdoor seating arrangements outside the cafe.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 7.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 7.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the college cafe before and after its redesign. A clear overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting the modernisation, the addition of specialised food departments, and the outdoor seating with recycling facilities. Key spatial changes, such as the conversion of the staff dining rooms into a take-away food area and coffee bar, and the addition of the salad bar and barbecue, are accurately reported and compared against the original layout. While some details could be slightly more extended to reach the highest bands, the information is well selected and fully addresses the prompt requirements.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0
The report exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The response is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and a high-level overview, followed by dedicated paragraphs for the upper and southern halves of the cafe. Cohesive devices and transitional phrases such as 'Overall', 'Firstly', and 'Turning to the southern part of the cafe' are employed to guide the reader through the visual data smoothly. Although paragraphing and referencing are generally well managed, slightly more varied cohesive links could enhance the flow further, placing the text comfortably within this band level.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the various functional zones of the cafe such as 'hot meals section', 'take away food room', 'salad bar', and 'recycling bins'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary and demonstrates an awareness of functional descriptions related to maps and plans. However, there are minor lexical and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'seperated' (spelling), 'entry gate' instead of entrance, and awkward phrasing like 'area outside off the cafe is also utilised'. These minor errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the vocabulary score from reaching higher levels.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating some control over structure when describing spatial relationships and modifications. However, grammatical errors are noticeable and occur with some frequency. Issues include punctuation and sentence boundary errors, such as starting a sentence with a dependent structure ('While the kitchen and the entry gate is as it is. The serving area...') and fragmenting clauses ('...as well as toilets are still there where they were before in the bottom right corner. However bin is replaced...'). Articles and prepositions also show occasional lapses, keeping the overall grammatical control at the current level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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