Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-12

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)

if we gonna compare between porth harbour in 2000 and today , we can see the main changed thing on it which is the castle and how it became a private hotel now , this private investment covered most of the south porth harbour side where they bought the beach next to the hotel , we also had some Cafés and shops not very far from the hotel that didn't exist in the past , both north and south side kept the car Parks as it is , also they add a new showers and toilets in the south as it was already existing in the north side , but since the south side is more like a privately owned the marina private yacht switched the place with the fishing boats so it's more organized and the public beach in the north stayed as it is , but they increased one more dock inorder to cover more passengers on the ferries

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several major changes, including the castle becoming a hotel, the beach becoming private, the addition of cafés and shops, and the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas. You also note that the north-eastern public beach remains. These are relevant comparisons and give the reader a general sense of how the harbour has changed. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the car parks are not simply retained “as it is,” since the southern facilities are rearranged and additional showers and toilets are shown. The dock gains a jetty, but the claim that this was to accommodate more ferry passengers is an unsupported explanation. A clearer overview and more precise reporting of the facilities and their locations would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response follows a broadly sensible order, moving from the southern hotel and beach to added facilities, the marina and fishing boats, and finally the northern beach and dock. Linking words such as “also,” “but,” and “since” help connect these points. However, the whole response is presented as one long sentence, so the progression is difficult to follow and relationships between changes are sometimes unclear. For example, “both north and south side kept the car Parks as it is” is followed by several different changes without clear separation. Divide the answer into paragraphs, including a brief overview, and use shorter sentences grouped by area or type of change.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “private beach,” “marina,” “fishing boats,” and “showers and toilets,” which helps communicate the main changes. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or awkward for describing a map. “The main changed thing” and “covered most of the south” do not clearly describe the changes, while “bought the beach” adds a detail not shown on the plans. There are also inconsistent forms and capitalisation, such as “Cafés” and “car Parks.” Aim for precise map language such as “was converted into,” “was relocated,” and “was added adjacent to,” and avoid interpreting the reasons behind changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to connect several ideas using clauses, for example “but since the south side is more like a privately owned…” and “as it was already existing…”. However, these longer structures are often difficult to control, and the answer relies heavily on one run-on sentence. There are errors in agreement and verb forms, as in “they add a new showers” and “the marina … switched the place,” as well as missing or incorrect articles in phrases such as “in the south.” Capitalisation and punctuation also make sentence boundaries unclear. Use a mix of shorter, complete sentences and carefully controlled complex sentences, checking subject–verb agreement, articles, and past-tense forms when describing the changes.

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.