Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · 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 7.5)

The two plans show the layout of the college cafe before and after it was redesigned.

Overall, the cafe undergoes a major transformation, with addition of outdoor seating and barbecue section, while staff dining rooms replaced by take away food and coffee bar.

Previously, the cafe had a serving area, staff dining rooms and a bin. The central area had an indoor seating with a facility of a toilet for customers.

At present, only a kitchen, an indoor seating which consists of tables and chairs and a toilet remained unchanged from the original site, whereas a bin is now converted into recycling bin. In addition to indoor seating, the seating arrangement has been expanded outdoor with a barbecue section on the west side of outdoor seating. The serving area which formerly served food and drinks to customers is now replaced by hot meals section, while salad bar stall has been added. However, the two staff dining rooms were demolished and now there is a takeaway food and a coffee bar area in place of former staff dining rooms.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 8.0

The response covers the main changes and gives a clear overview: outdoor seating and a barbecue have been added, while the former staff dining rooms have become takeaway and coffee facilities. It also accurately notes the kitchen, central seating and toilets remain, and that the serving counter now offers hot meals. These details are well selected and generally faithful to the plans. To make the account more complete, include other notable spatial changes, especially the new salad bar on the western wall and the two southern doors connecting the café to the outdoor area. The description of the barbecue as being on the west side of the outdoor seating is broadly consistent, but specifying its position immediately southwest would be more precise. Overall, the key features are well addressed, with only minor omissions of layout detail.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised in a clear sequence: an introduction, an overview, a description of the former layout and then the current arrangement. This makes the comparison easy to follow, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Previously,” “At present” and “In addition” help signal shifts between time periods and features. Some connections could be more precise, however. The final sentence returns to the staff rooms after several other changes, and “However” does not express a clear contrast there. Grouping the current changes by location—for example, north wall, western wall and outdoor area—would create a more systematic progression. The paragraphing and overall flow are effective, though cohesion is not always fully controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

There is a useful range of vocabulary for describing changes and locations, including “major transformation,” “replaced,” “expanded” and “remained unchanged.” The writer also uses relevant plan terminology such as “serving area,” “staff dining rooms” and “outdoor seating.” Some choices are imprecise or awkwardly combined: “a facility of a toilet” is not a natural way to describe the toilets, and “a bin is now converted into recycling bin” is less accurate than saying the bin was replaced by recycling bins. “Barbecue section” and “salad bar stall” could also be expressed more naturally and specifically. These occasional collocation and word-choice issues do not prevent understanding, but more precise phrasing would strengthen the description.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The response uses a range of sentence forms, including a complex overview with “while,” a contrast introduced by “whereas,” and relative clauses such as “which formerly served food and drinks.” Many sentences communicate the intended comparisons clearly. A few grammatical errors remain, particularly with articles and verb forms: “with addition of outdoor seating” needs an article, and “only a kitchen … and a toilet remained unchanged” shifts awkwardly from the present-time framing. In “a bin is now converted into recycling bin,” the passive construction and article use need correction. The phrase “an indoor seating” also treats an uncountable expression as a count noun. Review article use and maintain consistent tense when comparing the two plans; the overall sentence control is good, but these errors persist.

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