Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The given plans compare a college cafe, which has been redesigned, in between the before and after of it's look.

Overall, it can be seen that, in the latest design, there has been introduced a new salad bar section, a barbecue corner and a spaceous outdoor seating arrangement. Besides that, there is noticable change in meal serving area and garbage collection procedure.

Before the reconstruction of the cafe, there used to be staff dining rooms in the northern side of the cafe which was demolished and a take away food stall along with a coffee bar have been established. In addition, the serving area has been also replaced by a hot meals counter and just in front of it, in the western corner, a salad bar has been built in the indoor area. However, there's been an addition of outdoor seating place with a barbecue side which are located in the South direction of the cafe. Furthermore, the toilets, kitchen and indoor tables and chairs remained same as before whereas the bins are upgraded to recycle bins.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You identify the main transformation clearly: the former staff dining rooms become takeaway and coffee areas, the serving counter becomes a hot-meals counter, and outdoor seating with a barbecue is added. Your overview also notes the salad bar and recycling bins, while correctly stating that the kitchen, toilets and central tables remain. This gives a clear account of the key changes. Some details are generalised rather than fully reported: for example, you do not mention that the outdoor area contains four tables, or that the salad bar is along the western wall. The phrase “just in front of it” also gives an unclear location for the salad bar. More precise spatial comparisons would make the coverage more complete and well supported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing the changes. Information generally progresses from the northern rooms and serving area to the outdoor additions and unchanged facilities. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “In addition,” and “Furthermore” help guide the reader, and the comparison between the two plans is easy to follow. However, several transitions feel mechanical, and the long final paragraph combines many changes without grouping them consistently by location or type. “Besides that” and “However” do not express the relationships between ideas as precisely as they could. Organising the details into indoor changes and outdoor changes, and using clearer references, would make the progression smoother and more cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for describing a redesign, including “replaced,” “established,” “remained,” and “recycle bins.” These choices communicate the main changes, and you attempt less common terms such as “reconstruction” and “arrangement.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural, however: “in between the before and after of it’s look,” “spaceous,” “garbage collection procedure,” and “barbecue side” do not express the intended ideas naturally. “Noticable” is also misspelled, and “it’s” is incorrectly used for the possessive “its.” Aim for precise plan-description language, such as “before and after the redesign,” “spacious,” and “barbecue area.” This would improve accuracy and naturalness while retaining your useful range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use both simple and complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in the opening and a contrast structure in “whereas the bins are upgraded to recycle bins.” The main meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “there has been introduced” uses an awkward passive construction; “which was demolished” does not agree with the plural “staff dining rooms”; and “the toilets, kitchen and indoor tables and chairs remained same” is missing “the same.” There are also tense and article issues in “there used to be” and “an addition of outdoor seating place.” These errors rarely prevent understanding, but more consistent agreement, articles and verb forms would make the sentences more controlled.

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