Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

The plan illustrate the changes made to the harbour between 2000 and 2026.

It is evident that several significant modification are made to the harbour adding,replacing ,relocating and shrinking.

Looking at the maps in more detilas,in 2000 there was a showeres & toilets in the west side in porth harbour .However ,today this figure is inrease and there are another showers & toilets are add in west side of porth.The Marina was located in the east ,will be moved to the east right corner.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response3.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

You identify the period and attempt an overview by saying that the harbour underwent “adding, replacing, relocating and shrinking.” However, the overview is too general, and the response reports only a small part of the plans. The location of the marina is misreported: it was in the northern basin in 2000 and moves to the southern basin today, not “to the east right corner.” You also say showers and toilets increase, but do not clearly explain their locations or other major changes, such as the hotel replacing the disused castle, the south beach becoming private, and the dock gaining a jetty. The response is substantially below the required length, so it cannot provide an adequate summary. Select the main changes and describe them accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic sequence: an opening sentence, a brief overview, and then an attempt to describe details. This gives the reader some sense of the response’s purpose. However, the progression stops after a few details, and the final sentence combines several ideas without clearly showing how the locations changed. Linking words such as “However” and “Looking at the maps” are attempted, but the contrast introduced by “However” is not developed, and the paragraphing does not help organise the map features. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and grouped changes, such as facilities and the harbour’s southern area, and connect each comparison explicitly between 2000 and today.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You attempt some task-relevant vocabulary, including “harbour,” “modification,” “relocating,” “Marina,” and “showers & toilets.” These choices show awareness of the map topic, but the range is narrow and several spelling and word-choice errors make parts difficult to interpret, for example “detilas,” “showeres,” and “inrease.” The phrase “this figure” is also unsuitable for describing a facility on a plan, while “east right corner” is imprecise and does not match the map. Build a more accurate set of location and change terms, such as “northern basin,” “southern side,” “was relocated,” and “was replaced by,” and check spelling before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response includes simple statements and an attempt at a more complex sentence, such as “It is evident that several significant modification are made to the harbour…”. However, control is inconsistent: “The plan illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, and “modification are made” has a number and tense problem. In “there are another showers & toilets are add,” the sentence structure and verb form are faulty, making the intended meaning harder to follow. The final sentence also shifts awkwardly between past and future forms (“was located” and “will be moved”). Practise accurate past and present passive forms for map comparisons, for example, “The marina was located in the northern basin in 2000 but has since been moved south.”

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

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