Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-16

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 6.0)

The map illustrates the changes which have been occurred in the layout of college cafe.

Overall, in former years, the facilites were less than present. Nowadays, college cafe have salad bar, barbecue and take away service which was not in the past.

To start with, on the northern side, there was a kitchen below it, there was a serving area where all the food and drinks were offered. Beside the serving area, there were staff dining room and in the centre of cafe, it had tables and chairs. Apart from this, there were bin as well as toilets which are next to each other.

However, in present, serving area is replaced with hot meals while dining room is reconstructed with coffee bar and drive through service. A new area called salad bar is added. Bins are changed into recyling bins. The location of kitchen, toilets and tables and chairs is same as past. One more is added outside the cafe named barbecue. Beside barbecue, outdoor seating is also provided.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You give a clear overview of the main change: the café has gained facilities such as a salad bar and outdoor seating, while the kitchen, toilets and central tables remain. You also compare the former serving area with the hot-meal counter and note the replacement of the staff dining rooms. These points address the task well, and the overview shows some selection of key features. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the new northern sections are a take-away food area and coffee bar, not a “drive through service,” and the outdoor seating is beside the building rather than beside the barbecue. The description of the original layout is also imprecise. More precise location comparisons and fuller coverage of the new southern access would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overall summary, and paragraphs describing the former and current layouts. Sequencing phrases such as “To start with” and “However” help signal the shift between the plans, and the reader can follow the broad comparison. At times, though, the links between details are unclear or mechanical. For example, “on the northern side, there was a kitchen below it” leaves the reference of “it” uncertain, while “Beside the serving area” does not clearly establish the staff rooms’ position. The final paragraph also moves rapidly through several changes without grouping them by location. Use clearer spatial references and organise details consistently—for example, north, centre, then east and south—to make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “layout,” “serving area,” “reconstructed,” and “outdoor seating,” so the main changes are generally understandable. There is some attempt to vary wording, but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for this task. “Drive through service” mislabels the take-away food area, and “facilities were less than present” is an awkward way to compare the plans. Spelling errors such as “facilites” and “recyling” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise plan vocabulary and natural collocations, such as “the café had fewer facilities” and “the staff dining rooms were replaced by…” Check spelling carefully, especially for key labels taken directly from the diagram.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the overall meaning is usually clear. However, some errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction remain. The opening phrase “changes which have been occurred” uses an incorrect verb form; “college cafe have” has a subject–verb agreement problem; and “in former years” does not fit naturally with the past layout. In “on the northern side, there was a kitchen below it, there was a serving area,” two clauses are joined without suitable punctuation or a conjunction. Tense use also shifts in “there were bin as well as toilets which are next to each other.” Practise accurate past-tense descriptions and use shorter, well-controlled sentences when listing locations.

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