Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-07

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 map compares the layout of a college cafe before it was redeveloped and how it looks recently.

Overall, the cafe underwent significant change to increase seating facilities and food arrangments.

Inside the cafe, the main serving area for food and drinks was replaced with the counter of hot meals. Additionally, two staff dining rooms were changed into several food facility and a coffee bar. The corner for salad bar was added at the left corner whereas the bin in the eastern section was updated into recycling bins.

However, the central area for table and chairs served as it is the toilet area in the bottom right corner remained same although, additional seating facility was added outdoor. Furthermore, the barbecue section was added at the bottom-left corner of cafe.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main purpose of the redesign and report several accurate changes: the hot-meals counter, new takeaway and coffee facilities, salad bar, recycling bins, outdoor seating and barbecue. The overview that seating and food facilities increased is relevant. However, some important details are omitted, particularly that the former staff dining rooms were replaced by two adjoining sections, and that new doors connect the café to the outdoor seating. The phrase “several food facility” is also unclear about what changed. The central tables and toilets are correctly described as remaining, but the comparison could be more complete. The response is 129 words, below the required 150, so it has limited space to develop the plan’s key features. Include the missing changes and explain their locations more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable progression: it begins with an introduction and overview, then describes changes inside and outside the café. Linking expressions such as “Additionally,” “However,” and “Furthermore” help signal relationships between points. However, the final paragraph combines unchanged features with new outdoor facilities, and the contrast introduced by “However” is not fully clear. The sentence beginning “However, the central area…” is especially difficult to follow because several ideas are joined without clear boundaries. Organise the details into clearer groups—for example, changes to the interior, unchanged features, and additions outside—and use linking words only where they accurately express the relationship. This would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of task-related vocabulary, including “redeveloped,” “recycling bins,” “salad bar,” and “barbecue,” and the reader can understand most of the changes. There are, however, some inaccurate or awkward choices that reduce precision. “Food arrangments” is misspelled and does not clearly describe the new facilities; “food facility” is also vague, while “corner for salad bar” is an unnatural phrase. “Seating facilities” is understandable but less precise than describing the outdoor seating area. Aim for accurate collocations and specific labels from the plan, such as “takeaway counter” and “salad bar along the western wall.” Check spelling and use plural forms where needed.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast with “although” and additions introduced by “Additionally” and “Furthermore.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors make relationships between ideas unclear. For example, “the central area for table and chairs served as it is the toilet area” has a faulty structure and appears to confuse two separate features. In “the toilet area … remained same,” the article and verb phrase need correction: “the toilets remained the same.” The sentence with “although” also needs clearer punctuation and clause structure. Practise building complete comparison sentences, checking articles, plurals, and verb forms, and separating distinct points with full stops.

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