Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-09

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)

there are several changes made in porth harbour between 2000 and the present day the map highlights the additional space for shower & toilets and the car parking as well, where as new cafe hotel and shops are opened as well.

In porth harbour today next to the car park the places of fishing boat and marina (private yachts) has been swapped with eachother, and beside the marina in the southeast new cafe and shop point has been opened just along the road leading to lifeboat and at the southeast far near to the shore there was a castle which was abondoned and had of use, has converted into a hotel and the public beach which was along the south shore is now been specified as a private beach for hotel customers where as if we look at the northeast side just ahead of the fishing boat area another dock has been made for the passenger ferries.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several major changes, including the relocation of the marina and fishing-boat area, the addition of cafés and shops, and the conversion of the disused castle into a hotel. You also note that the southern beach becomes private while the north-eastern public beach remains. These are relevant comparisons and give the reader a general sense of redevelopment. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the new dock arrangement is described as a dock “made” for passenger ferries, rather than an additional jetty and a second berthed boat, and the added south-west facilities are not clearly distinguished from the existing north-west car park and showers. A concise overview of the main pattern of change, followed by more precise location details, would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic progression from general changes to specific comparisons, and phrases such as “between 2000 and the present day” and “whereas” help signal contrast. However, the information is presented in only two long paragraphs, with the second sentence carrying many separate changes. This makes relationships between locations difficult to follow, particularly around the marina, cafés, lifeboat station and road. Some linking is repetitive, especially the repeated use of “and” and “whereas,” while references such as “another dock” are not fully clear. Organise the response into a brief overview and a body paragraph or two grouped by area, using shorter sentences and clearer location references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “southeast,” “northeast,” “shore,” “private beach” and “converted into a hotel.” This gives you enough language to communicate the main changes, but several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems reduce precision. For example, “the places of fishing boat and marina … has been swapped” is awkward, and “had of use” does not clearly express that the castle was disused. “Cafe and shop point” is also unnatural, while “abondoned” is misspelled. Aim for accurate, conventional phrases such as “the marina and fishing-boat areas exchanged locations” and “a café and shops were added.” Check spelling and use plural forms where the map labels indicate multiple facilities.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt complex sentences to compare several changes, using clauses with “whereas” and “which,” but these structures are often difficult to control. For example, “the places … has been swapped” has subject–verb disagreement, and “the public beach … is now been specified” combines verb forms incorrectly. The sentence beginning “and at the southeast far…” also contains several clauses without clear punctuation, making the relationships hard to follow. There is some use of passive forms, which suits a map description, but tense and agreement are inconsistent. Use the past simple for the 2000 plan and the present simple or present perfect for current features, and divide long sentences into shorter, grammatically complete statements.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.