Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show a harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

 

 

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The map illustrates the changes are made in porth harbour and demonstrates how it was looked in 2000 and now.

Overall, there are significant development occur in that time all over the area, mostly in northren and southren side. The number of docks increase and some new buildings construct and the one replace with old one.

In 2000, the porth harbour have the one main entrance on west side which connect with the main road while the other one for car parking area and this parking have freshment section on the top with toilets and showers facility. Two dadicated places for private yachts and fishing boats and have only one dock for passengers ferries parking. The old map show two beaches on both side.

On the other hand, current plan displays a new showers and toilets building construct with second parking and also shift the parking entry point toward main road before it point to the small road which enter from road and go inside of the porth. A new place alot for cafes and shops on north side of this road and also this road extend to the hotel which made on the place of old castle. Public beach transformed into private beach for the hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad change from the 2000 plan to the present and mention several relevant developments, including the new hotel replacing the castle, the hotel’s private beach, and added cafés and shops. However, the overview is unclear: “the number of docks increase” does not accurately describe the main changes, and the response does not clearly summarise the relocation of the marina and fishing boats. Some details are also inaccurate or confusing, such as describing the harbour entrance as being on the west side and saying there were “two beaches on both side” without distinguishing the public beach that remains in the north-east from the southern beach. To strengthen the response, give a precise overview and compare the main facilities and their locations systematically.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph about 2000, and a paragraph about today. The contrastive opening “On the other hand” also signals a shift between the plans. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several features are compressed into long, loosely connected sentences. For example, the description of the entrance, road, car park and facilities in the 2000 paragraph does not make their locations clear. References such as “this parking” and “this road” can also be ambiguous. Organise details by area or by change, and use clearer links such as “in the north-west” and “by contrast” to guide the reader without overloading sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “main road,” “car parking area,” “private yachts,” “fishing boats,” and “public beach,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning unclear. For instance, “freshment section” does not describe the showers and toilets, “parking entry point” is not a clear label for a map feature, and “a new place alot for cafes and shops” is difficult to interpret. Spelling errors such as “northren,” “dedicated,” and “alot” also reduce precision. Learn and use standard location and change phrases, such as “facilities are situated beside” and “was relocated to,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to combine information in longer sentences, but control is inconsistent, and errors often make relationships between features difficult to understand. Examples include “the changes are made,” “there are significant development occur,” and “the number of docks increase,” where tense, agreement and sentence structure are faulty. Articles and verb forms are also problematic in “the porth harbour have the one main entrance” and “a new showers and toilets building construct.” The final paragraph contains several clauses joined without clear grammatical structure. Practise accurate past and present forms when comparing plans, and build sentences around a clear subject and verb—for example, “The castle was replaced by a hotel.” More reliable simple sentences will help before adding complex clauses.

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