Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-13

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 6.0)

The diagram illustrate how harbour looked in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall, there have been lots of upgrading or additional amenities added to harbour compared to harbour in 2000.

Firstly, access to habour from main road via car park remained unchanged. However, aditional shower & toilets were constructed just beside car park on south. Moving east from the first car park there was marina (private yachts) which have been now utilised as marina for fishing boats. Also, second dock was build just by the older dock so there are two docks at present.

Public beach on the north-east side of port harbour remained same, with no changes to it. Castle which was not in use have been restructred to hotel which is oprative in present. Public beach beside castles have been changed to private beach for the hotel. Moreover, new development brought in cafes & shops by the road which leads to hotel. Private yacths marina moved to finishing marina's place at present.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main change from a harbour with a castle to one with a hotel, and note that the south-eastern beach became private while the north-east public beach remained. You also attempt to describe changes to the marina and new facilities. However, some key details are inaccurate or unclear: the marina did not become a fishing-boat area; the two areas exchanged locations. The additional jetty and the two boats are also confused with “a second dock,” and the car-park and shower/toilet changes are not fully explained. The overview is relevant but general (“lots of upgrading”), so make it more informative by summarising the major relocations and the hotel development before describing locations precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an overview followed by two paragraphs describing changes, and sequencing phrases such as “Firstly,” “Moving east,” and “Moreover” help guide the reader. The main progression is understandable, but some connections are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Moving east from the first car park” does not clearly establish which marina or time period is being described, and “Private yachts marina moved to finishing marina’s place” is difficult to follow. The discussion also shifts between 2000 and today without consistently signalling the comparison. Grouping the changes by area or by type, and using clear references such as “formerly” and “in the present plan,” would make the progression more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “main road,” “private beach,” “marina,” and “additional amenities,” and the reader can generally understand the intended changes. However, several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision: “upgrading” is unnatural for describing map changes, “utilised as marina for fishing boats” mislabels the areas, and “finishing marina” appears to mean “fishing-boat area.” There are also misspellings such as “habour,” “aditional,” “oprative,” and “yacths.” Aim for accurate, conventional terms such as “relocated,” “converted into,” and “facilities,” and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary would help distinguish the dock, marina, and fishing-boat area.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including “which leads to hotel” and the contrast introduced by “However,” so there is some variety. Meaning is usually recoverable, but some errors in articles, agreement, tense, and verb forms remain. For example, “The diagram illustrate” needs subject–verb agreement, while “how harbour looked” needs an article. “Marina … which have been now utilised” has an agreement and tense problem, and “Castle … have been restructred” also uses an incorrect verb form. The sentence beginning “Moving east…” shifts awkwardly from past to present. Review article use and keep past forms for 2000 and present forms for today; this will make your comparisons more accurate and controlled.

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

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