Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 plan shows how a college cafe looked like before it was redesigned, and how it looks like now.

Overall, it is clear that before the cafe was redesigned it had no outdoor seating nor did it offer any hot meals. The cafe used to have staff dining rooms and a serving area that no longer exists. Whereas some things remained the same.

It is notable that there were major changes such as the serving area being replaced by the hot meals, along with the take away food and coffee bar taking the place of the staff dining room. The bin is now a recycling bin. Some parts of the cafe remain the same such as the tables and chairs area, and the toilets.

There were some additions to the cafe after being redesigned, a salad bar was introduced as well as a corner for barbecue with an outdoor seating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main contrast between the original café and the redesigned one, including the new hot-meal counter, takeaway and coffee facilities, salad bar, recycling bin, and outdoor seating. Your overview also notes that the toilets and central tables remain. These are relevant features, and the comparison is generally accurate. However, some important details are underdeveloped: for example, the new southern doors and the four outdoor tables are not described, and the barbecue is mentioned without locating it relative to the seating. The response also contains 142 words, below the 150-word minimum; eight words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count. Add a little more precise spatial detail to complete the summary more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing changes and additions. This helps the reader follow the comparison. However, progression between points is not always smooth. The sentence fragment-like transition “Whereas some things remained the same” is disconnected from the preceding overview, and the final paragraph introduces additions without linking them clearly to the earlier description. Repeated openings such as “It is notable” and “There were” also make the organisation feel somewhat list-like. Grouping features by location or by what changed versus what stayed the same, and using clearer links between those groups, would create a more coherent progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “redesigned,” “serving area,” “recycling bin,” and “outdoor seating,” so the main changes are understandable. There are also some imprecise or awkward choices: “looked like” is less suitable than “looked” or “was arranged,” while “a corner for barbecue” and “with an outdoor seating” are not natural collocations. “The serving area being replaced by the hot meals” is also an unclear way to describe the change in counter function. Aim for precise plan vocabulary and natural combinations, such as “counter,” “designated area,” and “outdoor dining area.” This would improve accuracy and flexibility without requiring more elaborate wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of sentence forms, including the contrast in “before the cafe was redesigned it had no outdoor seating” and the relative clause “the staff dining room.” Most of the meaning remains clear, but some grammatical errors and awkward constructions persist. In the opening, “looked like” and “looks like” should be “looked” and “looks” when describing the café’s appearance. “Whereas some things remained the same” is an incomplete dependent clause, and “after being redesigned” leaves the subject unclear. The phrase “with an outdoor seating” also has an article and countability problem. Use complete clauses and check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries; this will make your comparisons more controlled.

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

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