Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-08

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 two map daigrams illustrate the current changes at Porth harbour and how it looked in 2000.

Overall, there have been extensive additions to the harbour such as another dock and ferry, and showers and toilets, cafes and shops. have been added. Disused castle is replaces by hotel with a private beach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the two maps and notes some genuine changes, including the hotel replacing the disused castle and the addition of cafés and shops. However, it is far too brief to summarise the main features, and the overview is partly inaccurate: it mentions “another dock and ferry,” whereas the dock remains and gains an additional jetty and a second berthed boat. It also omits major changes, such as the marina and fishing-boat areas swapping locations, and the southern beach becoming private. The required minimum of 150 words is not met. To improve, provide a clear overview and describe the key changes in both the northern and southern parts of the harbour.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic overall shape: it introduces the maps and then gives an overview, signalled by “Overall.” This provides a simple progression, but the answer ends before it develops into a properly organised summary. There is no detailed paragraph describing the changes, and the listed additions are crowded into one sentence, making their relationships unclear. The punctuation in “shops. have been added” also disrupts the flow. Organise the response into an introduction, an overview, and one or two paragraphs grouping changes by location or type. Use linking phrases to show how features changed between 2000 and today.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “additions,” “disused castle,” and “private beach,” so the main topic is generally clear. However, the range is very limited, and some choices are inaccurate or imprecise. “Another dock and ferry” does not accurately describe the additional jetty and second berthed boat, while “current changes” is an awkward way to introduce a comparison between two maps. There are also spelling and word-form errors in “daigrams” and “replaces.” Use precise terms such as “additional jetty,” “second vessel,” and “was converted into,” and include vocabulary for location and movement, such as “relocated” and “adjacent to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response communicates a few basic ideas through simple sentence patterns, but it shows little range in sentence structure. The opening sentence, “The two map daigrams illustrate the current changes at Porth harbour and how it looked in 2000,” attempts to compare time periods, though the reference shifts awkwardly from plural “maps” to singular “it.” In the overview, “Disused castle is replaces by hotel” has problems with articles and the passive verb form; a clearer construction would be “The disused castle has been replaced by a hotel.” The punctuation in “shops. have been added” incorrectly separates the subject from its verb. Practise accurate passive forms and use a mix of simple and complex sentences to report changes.

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

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