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)

The plans illustrate the redevelopment of the cafe at a college that has occurred and how it looks to the present day.

Overall, it is clear that cafe has undergone a major advancement. A outdoor sitting area alongside barbecue has been introduces. Staff dining rooms have been converted into food and coffee facilities. Some other facilities remained at the original position.

Looking at the bottom of the chart, the sitting area outside the cafe building has been introduced for students with barbecue at the left bottom of the plan. The kitchen maintained its position. However, the serving area for all type of food and drinks is now offering only hot meals.

The rooms for staff has been removed, take away food and coffee bar is being constructed in place of them. The bin situated to the east side of the map has now been used for recycling. A salad bar is constructed to the west side of the plan. The central tables and chairs maintained their position without showing any change.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response gives a clear overview of the main changes, identifying the new outdoor seating and barbecue, the replacement of staff dining rooms with food and coffee facilities, and the retention of some features. It also reports several accurate details, including the kitchen’s unchanged position, the hot-meals counter, the salad bar and recycling bins. This coverage and the overall comparison are effective. However, some important details are only broadly described: the two new southern doors and the four outdoor tables are not mentioned, and the toilets’ unchanged location is omitted. The statement that the serving area now offers “only hot meals” is slightly over-specific, since the plan labels the counter “Hot meals” without saying it is the sole service. More precise coverage of these features would strengthen an otherwise clear account.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs, with a generally sensible movement from the outdoor changes to the interior. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However” and “Looking at” help signal the stages of the description, and the reader can follow the main comparisons. Some cohesion is less controlled: “Looking at the bottom of the chart” is an awkward transition, and the final paragraph groups several separate changes without a clear spatial sequence. The reference to “them” in “in place of them” is understandable but could be more precise. To make the progression more fluent, organise details consistently by area—for example, north, west, centre and south—and use concise links that clarify whether a feature was retained, replaced or added.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is adequate vocabulary for describing the redesign, including “redevelopment,” “converted,” “maintained its position” and “recycling.” These choices allow the main changes to be communicated, and the response attempts some less common wording. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “major advancement” for a physical redesign, “sitting area” where “seating area” is more idiomatic, and “has been introduced” for a feature that was added. “Constructed” is also not the most precise verb for facilities shown on a plan; “added” or “installed” would fit better. Greater consistency in using the plan’s labels, alongside more natural collocations, would improve precision and flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the overview sentence with “while” implied through contrast and the sentence beginning “However.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but grammatical control is uneven, with errors in articles, agreement and verb forms. Examples include “A outdoor sitting area,” “has been introduces,” and “The rooms for staff has been removed”; these should be “An outdoor seating area,” “has been introduced,” and “The staff rooms have been removed.” The phrase “the cafe” also needs an article in “it is clear that the cafe,” while “maintained their position” would be more accurate as “have remained in the same position.” Check subject–verb agreement and tense consistency, and proofread articles and passive constructions. More accurate control of these forms would make the varied sentence attempts clearer.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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