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 diagram compares the condition of harbour in 2000 and at present time.

The harbour went through noticeable changes.

In 2000, habour habour plans that were same throughout the time are main road, showers and toilets, public beach, passenger ferries, lifeboat and the road toward south-east corner. Moving through main road towards south two major changes took place in marine private yachts which was later altered to fishing boats. Towards south-west corner an additional showers and toilets are also added with car parks. Marina changed the place with fishing boats. Moving towards south east of road that leads to lifeboat, cafes and shops are built just beside lifeboat. The south east part of plan shows a castl ein 2000 which is replaces by hotel, today. North-east space of map shows changes in number of docks which is added one more. Public beach in the north east corner of plan is kept same throughout the years.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify that the harbour has changed and report several relevant developments, including the marina and fishing boats exchanging locations, cafés and shops being added near the lifeboat, and the disused castle becoming a hotel. You also note that the north-eastern public beach remains. However, the overview is very general, and some details are inaccurate or unclear: the text says the “number of docks” increased, whereas the plan shows an additional jetty and two boats at the dock. The opening list of features that stayed the same is also unreliable, since the showers and toilets were expanded and relocated. To strengthen the response, give a clearer overview of the main changes and describe the harbour’s key areas more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence, moving from the 2000 plan to changes in the southern and south-eastern areas, and it uses directional phrases such as “towards south” and “north-east corner” to guide the reader. However, the information is presented in one continuous paragraph, and the progression is difficult to follow because several locations and changes are combined in long, loosely connected sentences. “Moving through main road towards south” and “Moving towards south east of road” do not clearly signal which feature is being described. The repeated use of “towards” also makes the linking mechanical. Organise the report into an overview and two detail paragraphs, grouping changes by location or type, and use clearer references between features.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “corner,” “altered,” “replaced,” and “public beach,” and you attempt to describe change with phrases such as “went through noticeable changes.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear. “Harbour plans” is not an appropriate way to refer to the maps, while “changed the place with” does not clearly express that the marina and fishing boats exchanged locations. There are also spelling errors, including “habour” and “castl,” and inconsistent use of “marine” for “marina.” Use precise terms such as “relocated,” “remained unchanged,” and “an additional jetty,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and use past and present forms to compare the two plans, but control is inconsistent. Errors in articles and agreement appear in “condition of harbour” and “which was later altered,” while “cafes and shops are built” does not fit smoothly with the past-to-present comparison. The sentence beginning “In 2000, habour habour plans…” is difficult to interpret because its structure is incomplete, and “which is replaces by hotel” contains faulty verb forms and missing articles. These problems sometimes make relationships between features hard to understand. Practise building accurate simple comparison sentences first, then add subordinate clauses; check articles, subject–verb agreement, and consistent tense use when describing past and current layouts.

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