Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-12

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 two plans illustrate a college cafe before it was redesigned and how it looks now.

Overall, the cafe has been modernized and expanded. It now includes various facilities such as, a salad bar, recycling bins, a barbecue, and an outdoor seating. However, there are several departments whose position has remained unchanged.

Before redesign, the cafe had a serving area in the north-western side of the layout, which is now replaced with hot meals. Additionally, there were staff dining rooms near the center, attached to the northern wall. This area is now used as a take away food and a coffee bar. Moreover, a salad bar has been introduced on the western side of the plan.

On the other hand, there was a bin on the eastern side of the layout, which is now been replaced by recycling bins. In addition, two doors has now been added on the southern wall, one on the eastern side of the wall and another on the western side of the wall. Furthermore, a barbecue section is introduced on the outer side of the southern wall. Similarly, an outdoor seating has been added in front of the barbecue. Meanwhile, the position of a kitchen, tables and chairs, and toilets has remained unchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

You give a clear overview of the main changes, noting the new facilities and that the kitchen, seating area and toilets remain in place. The comparisons are generally accurate: the serving counter becomes a hot-meals counter, the staff rooms are replaced by takeaway and coffee areas, and the bin becomes recycling bins. You also report the new southern access, barbecue and outdoor seating. This covers the task well and selects relevant features. Some details could be more precise: the outdoor seating is beside the building, with four tables, and the barbecue is to its south-west; the response instead says the seating is “in front of the barbecue,” which may misrepresent their relative positions. The overview could also identify the substantial addition of outdoor space more explicitly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear four-part structure: introduction, overview, changes in the northern and western areas, then changes to the east and south and features that remain. This gives the reader a coherent route through the plans. Linking expressions such as “Additionally,” “Moreover,” and “Meanwhile” help connect comparisons, and the final sentence effectively groups unchanged features. However, several transitions feel formulaic or do not express a clear contrast: “On the other hand” introduces another set of changes rather than an opposing point, while “Similarly” does not show a meaningful similarity. The repeated “In addition”/“Furthermore” pattern also makes cohesion somewhat mechanical. Grouping changes by location and using more precise references would make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing a plan, including “modernized,” “introduced,” “replaced,” “southern wall,” and “remained unchanged.” These choices communicate the main transformations clearly, and the response avoids excessive repetition of basic verbs. Some word choices and collocations are less natural or precise, however: “an outdoor seating” is not idiomatic, “a barbecue section is introduced” is awkward, and “departments” is not the best term for the cafe’s rooms or facilities. “Various facilities such as” is also followed by an unnecessary comma. Aim for more exact plan-description language, such as “outdoor seating area,” “barbecue area,” and “sections” or “rooms.” This would add precision and flexibility while retaining the clear meaning.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including relative clauses (“which is now replaced with hot meals”) and coordinated comparisons. Most sentences are understandable, and errors rarely obscure the intended changes. Some grammatical inaccuracies remain, particularly with agreement and verb forms: “which is now been replaced” should be “which has now been replaced,” and “two doors has now been added” should be “two doors have now been added.” The phrase “an outdoor seating has been added” also has a countability/article problem; use “an outdoor seating area has been added.” There is some control of past-versus-present comparison, but tense choices are not always consistent. Proofreading for auxiliary verbs, subject–verb agreement and articles would improve accuracy.

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