Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-07

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 plans illustrates how the Porth Harbour changed in 2000 and now.

Overall,there are some changes made,the Marina(private yachts) and fishing boats swithed its place. In addition a new showers and toilets added.

In the east bottom corner, there was a castle in 2000 ,which is now a hotel.Beside the place there was public beach which now turned into private beach for the hotel,a new road is created to reach the hotel ,which was not available in 2000 to reach the castle.A new cafes and shops corner has been added beside the lifeboat.

There was a public beach on the north top of the place,which is still there now.A noticable change is ,there was one dock in 2000, where one dock has been added, now there is two dock behind the passengere ferries.In 2000, there was one showers and toilets in the west corner where one more showers and toilets corner is added.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas, the replacement of the castle by a hotel, and the change from a public to a hotel beach. You also note that the north-eastern public beach remains. These details give the response a relevant overview, although the overview is brief and the changes are not all reported accurately: the dock itself was not duplicated; an additional jetty was added, with two boats berthed. The claim that a new road was created to reach the hotel is not supported by the plans, which show the road in both periods. Other major changes, such as the added facilities and the relocation of the fishing boats, could be described more clearly and precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an opening overview is followed by details about the southern area and then the northern harbour. This helps the reader follow the main comparisons. However, the overview is compressed, and several details are joined into long sentences with commas, as in the description of the castle, beach and road. This makes relationships between changes less clear. Linking phrases such as “In addition” and “Beside” are used, but some connections are mechanical or imprecise, and “Beside the place” has an unclear reference. Organising the body into clearer north and south sections, and using explicit comparisons between 2000 and today, would make the progression more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “Marina (private yachts),” “public beach,” “lifeboat,” and “passenger ferries,” so the reader can identify the features being compared. There are also attempts at more descriptive language, such as “switched its place” and “turned into private beach,” but these are not natural collocations for describing map changes. Some spelling errors, including “swithed,” “noticable,” and “passengere,” reduce accuracy, while repeated use of “there was” and “added” limits variety. Aim for precise verbs and phrases such as “was relocated,” “was converted into,” and “was added adjacent to.” This would improve flexibility and clarity without requiring unnecessarily complex vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and complex sentences, for example using relative clauses in “a castle in 2000, which is now a hotel” and “a public beach … which is still there now.” However, errors in agreement, articles and sentence construction are noticeable. The opening “The plans illustrates” should use a plural verb, and “a new showers and toilets added” lacks a correctly formed verb phrase and has a number mismatch. The sentence beginning “A noticeable change is” also shifts awkwardly between past and present forms. Several long sentences are joined mainly by commas, creating punctuation problems. Use shorter, complete sentences and check subject–verb agreement, articles and consistent tense when comparing the two plans.

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