Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The graph illustrates changes in Porth Harbour between 2000 and today.

In 2020 the south island of the Port was a Castle closed to a public beach. The main change is that the castle is now an hotel and the beach belongs the this hotel so the acces is private. To create the hotel, they also added a road. Another new point in this part of the port is the area for café and shops next to the lifeboat.

The south car park is at the same place in both maps but the acces is different, it was previously accesible from the south road and is now accesible from the main road.

On the top of this car park, we can find new showers and toilets, this space was initally empty. Finally, on the right of the car park, a big space is attribute for Marina private yachts. In the past, this space was for fishing boats, but they switched, so we can find the fishing boats on the north side of the port. Another dock had be adding on the right side of the new fishing boats area, for the passenger ferries.

In contrast, the car park and the showers and toilets areas from the northwest part on the port remains the same.

Overall, those maps shows many changes in Port Harbour.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the castle becoming a hotel, the southern beach becoming private, the marina and fishing-boat areas switching locations, and new cafés and shops. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the maps compare 2000 with today, not 2020, and the road was already present rather than newly added. The description of the northern dock is also confused: it gained an additional jetty and has two boats, while the passenger ferries are shown nearby. Your overview, “many changes,” is too general to highlight the main pattern of redevelopment. To strengthen the response, give a clearer overview of the harbour’s transformation and report the key changes accurately, including the dock and the new facilities.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a generally understandable order: it describes the southern area, then the car park and harbour facilities, and ends with the north-west. Paragraphing helps separate these points, and phrases such as “In contrast” and “Finally” signal relationships between details. However, the progression is not always easy to follow because some references are vague, as in “On the top of this car park” and “this space,” and the dock information is inserted into a paragraph about the marina without a clear transition. The final overview is also very brief and does not summarise the main changes. Grouping the description more consistently by area and using precise location references would make the organisation clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a harbour plan, including “Castle,” “lifeboat,” “Marina,” “fishing boats,” and “northwest,” and you attempt useful change language such as “switched.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, including “the beach belongs the this hotel,” “a big space is attribute for Marina,” and “the south island of the Port.” Spelling errors such as “acces,” “initally,” and “café” (where the plural is needed) also reduce precision. Aim for standard map-description phrases such as “is located,” “was converted into,” and “is reserved for.” More accurate collocations and careful spelling would make your descriptions easier to understand.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and longer sentences, including a contrastive construction in “In the past, this space was for fishing boats, but they switched.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors occur in verb forms, articles, agreement, and sentence construction. For example, “Another dock had be adding” needs a correctly formed passive, while “those maps shows” has a subject–verb agreement error. The phrase “the beach belongs the this hotel” also has an incorrect grammatical pattern, and “an hotel” uses the wrong article. Some sentences are fragments or awkwardly joined, such as “In 2020 the south island … was a Castle closed to a public beach.” Practise accurate past and present passive forms and check articles and agreement.

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

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