Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 21 · 2026-10-20

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 shows the before and after of a college cafe that was redesigned.

Overall, the cafe has not changed significantly. It has retained its original structure. The redesigned cafe has increased its serving options and it has also expanded outwards.

The cafe before redesign served all the food and drinks from kitchen but today the kitchen serves hot meals only. Salad bar has been introduced along with barbecue outside the cafe which is a new addition. The staff dinning rooms have been replaced with take away food and coffee bar. The toilets remained on their original location and bins were replaced with recycling bins taking up more space.

Tables and chairs also remained at their original place. However expansion for the cafe took place and the outdoor seating has been introduced right infront of barbecue station. 2 new door exists have also been placed to provide a way to reach the outdoor area on the sides.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You give a clear overview of the main changes, noting that the café retained much of its structure while gaining more food options and an outdoor area. The comparisons are generally accurate: the staff dining rooms became a takeaway section and coffee bar, the kitchen counter now serves hot meals, and the toilets and central seating remain. This coverage supports a well-developed response to the plans. However, some details are imprecise or over-generalised: the outdoor seating is south of the café, while the barbecue is to its south-west, rather than the seating being “right infront of” the barbecue. The claim that the bins take up more space is not shown by the plans. More precise descriptions of these locations would strengthen an otherwise clear account.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs describing changes, so the reader can follow the comparison. Linking words such as “Overall,” “However” and “along with” help signal relationships between ideas. This is a coherent arrangement, and the main features are grouped sensibly. To make the progression more consistently clear, organise the details by location or by what changed and what remained, rather than moving between the kitchen, outdoor facilities, staff rooms and toilets in one paragraph. Some references are also unclear: “2 new door exists” does not clearly identify the doors, and “on the sides” is confusing because the new doors are in the southern wall. More precise referencing and less abrupt transitions would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of vocabulary for describing a redesigned plan, including “retained,” “replaced,” “introduced,” “expanded outwards” and “original location.” These choices communicate the broad changes effectively. However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise: “serving options” is less natural than “food and drink options,” and “right infront of barbecue station” does not accurately describe the relative positions. “Door exists” appears to be an incorrect choice where you mean “doors” or “entrances.” There are also spelling errors in “dinning” and “infront.” Aim for precise spatial language such as “to the south of” and “adjacent to,” and check spelling and word forms carefully. This would make the description more accurate and polished.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including the contrast in “The toilets remained on their original location and bins were replaced with recycling bins.” Most sentences are understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. The opening has subject–verb disagreement: “The plans shows” should be “The plans show.” Articles are missing in “from kitchen” and “Salad bar has been introduced,” while “remained on their original location” uses the wrong preposition; write “remained in their original location.” The final sentence also has an unclear construction around “2 new door exists have also been placed.” Practise accurate plural forms, articles and prepositions, and use a wider range of controlled sentence patterns to improve grammatical reliability.

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