Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-09

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 map illustrates a before and after of a college cafe renovation.

Overall, a cafe today underwent significant changes while keeping the original design same and replacing some places with new rooms. The noteable changes are the development of outdoor seating area, salad bar and a counter for hot meals. The kitchen, toilets and centre tables and chairs remained in the same locations in both cafes.

A cafe before renovations had a kitchen with a serving area for food and drinks. The tables and chairs were placed in the centre hall near staff dining rooms. The bins and toilets were present in the southeastern side near the entrance and exit gates.

A cafe today has a kitchen with a counter for hot meals which previously was a serving area. A salad bar and barbecue counters have been included in a redesigned cafe along with a proper outdoor seating area. The staff dining rooms have been replaced by a takeaway food and a coffee bar counter, whereas recycling bins have been doubled while located in the same positions. Additionally, multiple entrance and exit gates have been introduced for an easy access.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You provide a clear overview of the main transformation, identifying the new outdoor seating, salad bar and hot-meal counter, while noting that the kitchen, toilets and central seating remain in place. The before-and-after paragraphs also cover several key changes, including the replacement of staff dining rooms with takeaway and coffee facilities. This gives the report a clear focus and addresses the task well. However, some details are inaccurate or over-generalised: the plan shows one bin replaced by recycling bins, not that the bins were “doubled,” and the barbecue is an outdoor area rather than a set of “barbecue counters.” The entrance description is also unclear, since the plan specifically adds two doors on the southern wall to outdoor seating. More precise reporting of these features would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into a brief introduction, an overview and separate descriptions of the original and redesigned café. This gives the reader a sensible route through the comparison, and linking expressions such as “whereas” and “Additionally” help connect changes. The overview also usefully groups features that stayed the same and those that were added. At times, however, the progression is less precise because details are grouped without a clear spatial order: the final paragraph moves from the kitchen to the salad bar, barbecue, seating, counters and bins. Some references, such as “the same positions,” are not fully clear because the sentence refers to recycling bins and their earlier single bin. Organising each description by location and using more exact references would make cohesion more flexible and less dependent on general linking phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for describing a redesigned plan, including “replaced,” “remained,” “included” and “outdoor seating.” These choices communicate the main changes, and terms such as “centre” and “southeastern side” show an attempt to describe location. Some word choices and collocations are imprecise, though: “the original design same” is not natural, “barbecue counters” mislabels the barbecue area, and “gates” is less appropriate than “doors” for the entrances shown. “Doubled” also gives an unsupported impression of quantity. There is a spelling error in “noteable,” and “a cafe today” is an awkward way to refer to the redesigned plan. Aim for precise plan vocabulary and check spelling and collocations so that the reader can distinguish facilities from access points.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple statements and more complex structures, including the contrast in “whereas recycling bins…” and the relative clause in “which previously was a serving area.” Most sentences remain understandable, and the overview gives the response a clear grammatical framework. Some errors and awkward constructions remain. For example, “keeping the original design same” is missing an article before “same,” while “A cafe today underwent significant changes” uses an unsuitable tense and construction for describing a plan. In “The bins and toilets were present in the southeastern side,” the preposition should be “on.” The final sentence also has an unclear structure around “multiple entrance and exit gates … introduced.” More consistent present-tense description of the current plan, accurate articles and prepositions, and clearer sentence construction would improve control.

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