Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-10

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 plan illustrates change in porth harbour from 2000 to today.

The porth has been modernised by building cafes and shops. Although, castle was removed but there is the new development of hotel and toilets. Instead of fishing it has been transformed toward attracting more visitors.

In 2000 the porth harbour main road led to west car park which was below shower and toilets. There were two public beachs and a single dock for two passenger ferries. Marina yacht was smaller in size. There were bigger fishing boats beside south car park which is opening up to the road leading to lifeboat. The castle disused was at the right bottom of porth.

Today six major changes take place. The castle has been replaced by hotel at the bottom right of porth. The south public beach has been changed into private beach. At left there is new shower and toilets above car park. Marina yacht get bigger while fishing boats get smaller. New cafes and shop is build near life boat to attract visitors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the broad direction of change, noting the harbour’s shift towards tourism, the hotel replacing the disused castle, and the southern beach becoming private. These are relevant main features, and the response covers both time periods. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the dock is not described as serving two passenger ferries in 2000; the plan shows a dock with a boat and passenger ferries nearby. The claim that the marina was smaller and later “get[s] bigger” is not supported by the plan, which shows it relocating from the northern basin to the southern one. You also omit the exchange of fishing boats and marina locations and the extra jetty. A more precise overview and fuller reporting of these changes would strengthen the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a brief overview, and separate descriptions of the harbour in 2000 and today. This gives the reader a basic chronological route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in the 2000 description, where the road, car park, beaches, dock and boats are presented in a compressed sequence. Linking is also limited; “Although” is used awkwardly at the start of a sentence, and “Today six major changes take place” does not clearly organise the details that follow. Grouping changes by location or by function, and using clearer references such as “in the northern basin” and “by contrast,” would make the account more cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “replaced,” “private beach,” “car park,” and “lifeboat,” and the general idea of modernisation is communicated. However, several word choices and collocations are imprecise or repetitive: “Marina yacht,” “opening up to the road,” and “transformed toward attracting more visitors” do not describe the map naturally. “Bigger” and “smaller” are also used for changes in size that the plan does not establish. Spelling and word forms such as “beachs” and “build” further reduce accuracy. Aim for precise location and change language, for example, “relocated to the southern basin” or “a new café and shop complex was added.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “Although” and a sentence beginning “Instead of fishing.” However, control is uneven, and some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. For example, “Although, castle was removed but there is the new development of hotel and toilets” combines two contrasting structures and omits necessary articles. In “Marina yacht get bigger,” the subject–verb agreement and tense are incorrect, while “New cafes and shop is build” has agreement and passive-form errors. There are also article and plural problems in “the porth” and “two public beachs.” Check sentence boundaries, articles, agreement and past-tense forms when describing the 2000 plan and subsequent changes.

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