Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-06

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 4.0)

The diagrams shows porth harbour of 2000 and how much it have changed to present and how it looks today.

overall, if we start from the east of the harbour that is the public beach there is a dock right next to it for passengers to get onto the ferries. To the west side of the harbour we come through a lot of different facilities like showers/toilets car park and fishing boats etc.

so if we start from the west

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5

The response identifies the two time points and mentions some relevant features, including the public beach, dock, passenger ferries, showers, car park and fishing boats. However, it does not provide a meaningful account of how the harbour changed: there is no clear comparison of the two plans, and major developments such as the marina and fishing-boat areas switching locations, the new hotel and private beach, and added facilities are omitted. The overview is also inaccurate or unclear: the dock is at the northern harbour entrance, not simply next to the eastern public beach. The response ends mid-thought and contains only 80 words, well below the required 150, leaving the task substantially incomplete. Describe the main changes and support them with specific locations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, beginning with an overview and then signalling a west-to-east description. However, the progression is not completed: “so if we start from the west” introduces a section that never follows, and the response stops before explaining the present-day plan. The opening overview combines locations and facilities without clearly distinguishing the 2000 layout from today, so the reader cannot follow a comparison. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and the main changes, and connect each feature to its location and time period. Clear sequencing words such as “In 2000,” “Today,” and “By contrast” would help make the relationships between details explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses a small set of relevant task words, including “harbour,” “public beach,” “dock,” “passengers,” “ferries,” and “facilities,” so the basic subject is recognisable. However, the vocabulary is limited and several expressions are vague or imprecise, such as “a lot of different facilities” and “etc.” These do not identify the specific changes shown on the plans. “How much it have changed” is also an awkward choice for describing changes to a layout; “how the harbour has changed” would be more natural. Aim to use precise map vocabulary such as “relocated,” “replaced,” “added,” and “situated,” alongside named features, rather than relying on general terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts both a longer opening sentence and a sentence describing locations, but grammatical control is inconsistent. For example, “The diagrams shows” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “how much it have changed” contains an incorrect verb form and an unclear construction. The phrase “if we start from the east of the harbour that is the public beach” lacks punctuation and has an unclear clause structure. Most of the response relies on simple statements or fragments, including the unfinished “so if we start from the west.” Practise accurate present and past forms when comparing the plans, and use complete sentences with clear subjects and punctuation. This will make the intended comparisons easier to understand.

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

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