Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-15

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)

There is an illustration of a cafe as how it was in the beginning and how it is after the design. The cafe features kitchen which is at the same place as it is shown in the redesign figure. The toilet and the recycling bin area is still designed at the same place.

There have been some changes which are quite apparent. For instance, the salad bar was not designed in the pre-design illustration of the cafe. The barbecue area with outdoor seating was not planned in the pre-design. There is also a slight change in the serving area of pre-design. It is now reconstructed as a hot meals area in the final design of the cafe. The staff dining rooms in the pre-design are converted into two separate sections in the final design: a takeaway food area and a coffee bar.

Overall, the cafe does not look different after the design except for the main ideas like introducing barbecue outside and creating salad bar, takeaway food, and the coffee bar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify several important changes, including the new salad bar, the conversion of the staff dining rooms into takeaway and coffee sections, and the addition of outdoor seating and a barbecue. You also note that the kitchen and toilets remain in place. This covers the main transformation, and the overview recognises that the café has been reorganised rather than completely replaced. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the bin became recycling bins, not a recycling-bin area that stayed unchanged, and the serving counter is now labelled “Hot meals.” The central tables and chairs and the new southern doors are not mentioned. The overview’s claim that the café “does not look different” also understates the extent of the changes.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall sequence: it introduces the comparison, describes features that remain, then lists changes and ends with a summary. Paragraphing helps distinguish these stages, and linking phrases such as “For instance” and “Overall” make the progression easy to follow. This gives the report a coherent structure. Some connections are nevertheless repetitive or imprecise: “There have been some changes” and “Overall” introduce broad statements without clearly grouping the changes by location or type. The final summary also repeats earlier examples rather than synthesising the main contrast. Organising the body around retained features and changes to the interior and exterior, with clearer references to each plan, would make cohesion more flexible and precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a relevant range of vocabulary for describing a redesign, including “converted,” “sections,” “salad bar,” and “outdoor seating.” These terms help communicate the main changes, and the meaning is generally clear. However, several choices are awkward or imprecise for a plan description. “As how it was” is not a natural way to introduce the comparison, while “designed” and “planned” are used where “shown” or “present” would be more accurate. “The toilet and the recycling bin area” also mislabels the original bin and suggests the recycling bins were already there. “Main ideas” is vague when referring to physical features. More precise location and layout vocabulary, such as “along the western wall” or “replaced by,” would improve accuracy and range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple sentences and more complex structures, including “The staff dining rooms … are converted into two separate sections …,” which clearly expresses a change. Most sentences are understandable, and errors rarely prevent the reader from following the comparison. Some grammatical problems remain, however. The opening phrase “There is an illustration of a cafe as how it was” has an awkward clause structure; “The café is shown before and after its redesign” would be clearer. In “The cafe features kitchen,” the article is missing, and “The toilet and the recycling bin area is” has a subject–verb agreement problem. Tense and passive forms are also inconsistent in “was not designed” and “are converted.” More consistent past-to-present comparisons and careful checking of articles and agreement would strengthen accuracy.

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