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)

The map illustrates the porth harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall; the map was little bit changed on today than on 2000. The new place was made and some area was covered large on today map. While the rooms are transfrom from upper to lower and changed the sides on today.

Looking more closely, In the past north west there was main road and a small area to enter on car park and upper side of the par there was a showers&toilets and a left side of dock there was marina which was private yachts. In this time the marina was transfromed in the south west side as the place of fishing boat on 2000. Although, in today it was all same on south west and north west from2000.

In terms of south east the life boat was not replaced but the upper side of road the cafes&shops was made a new sectors. The public beache was change into private beach for the hotel. The righ side on 2000 the pentagol shape of castle was replaced and build a hotel in same shape. Moreover, north east has a same things but a extra dock was build and all the things was on same placed in today.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two time periods and report several relevant changes, including the marina’s relocation, the addition of cafés and shops, and the castle’s replacement by a hotel. However, the overview is unclear and does not accurately summarise the main pattern: the harbour has been redeveloped, with facilities added and some uses exchanged. Some details are misreported or too vague. For example, the southern beach was public in 2000 and is private today, but your wording says “the public beache was change into private beach” without clearly locating it; the north-east public beach remains unchanged, not the dock. You also say the “rooms” moved, which is unclear. Select the key changes more precisely and distinguish unchanged features from new ones.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic paragraph structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing locations. This gives the reader some organisation, and phrases such as “Overall” and “In terms of south east” signal shifts in focus. However, progression within paragraphs is difficult to follow because several locations and changes are combined in long, loosely connected sentences. The overview’s “While the rooms…” is not clearly linked to the preceding point, and “Although” introduces a sentence without a clear contrast. References such as “it,” “all same,” and “all the things” are also vague. Group the information by area or by major change, and use clear links such as “In the northern section” and “By contrast” only where the relationship is accurate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “marina,” “private yachts,” “car park,” “lifeboat,” and “hotel,” so the reader can recognise several features. However, the range is limited and a number of word choices or forms make the description unclear. “Rooms” does not accurately describe harbour facilities, “transfrom” is an incorrect form, and “pentagol shape” is an imprecise description that is not needed to report the main change. Phrases such as “new sectors” and “same things” are also too general for a map comparison. Aim for precise verbs and location language, such as “was relocated,” “was added,” “remained unchanged,” and “to the south of.” Check spelling and use standard labels from the map.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some longer sentences and use past and present time references, but control is inconsistent, and errors often make relationships between features hard to understand. For example, “Overall; the map was little bit changed on today than on 2000” has problems with article use, comparison structure, and tense. In “the marina was transfromed in the south west side,” the preposition pattern is faulty, while “the public beache was change” has an incorrect verb form. Sentence boundaries and punctuation are also unreliable, as shown by the comma splice-like sequence beginning “In the past north west…”. Practise accurate simple comparison sentences first, then combine them with clauses using “while” or “whereas”; check articles, past-tense forms, and sentence punctuation.

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