Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The graphics shows the information about the Porth Harbour design in 2000 and the changes that were made since 2000s untill today.

It can be clearly seen that the Porth Harbour got various upgrades as the time passed. The diagrams present many spots in the area including car parking, fishing boats, Marina (private yachts) fishing boats, passenger ferries, public beach and hotel. At the time of 2000, there are two car parking areas with one showers and toilet place but it is updated with one more showers and toilets area. Fishing boats and Marina (private yachts) locations are replaced with each others. Cafe and shops was not included in the design in 20s but now it is available just at the side of lifeboat, where a new road has been made that goes directly to the hotel, which was previously called castle. There were two public beaches at first but one has been changed into private beach at the back side of the hotel.

Porth Harbour got many changes by the time as

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion4.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas, the addition of cafés and shops, and the conversion of the castle and southern beach for hotel use. These details show a relevant understanding of the plans. However, the account is only partial: it does not clearly summarise the overall transformation, and some statements are inaccurate or unclear. For example, the road to the hotel was not newly made; a road was already shown in 2000. The northern public beach also remains public, so saying there were two public beaches “at first” is misleading. A clearer overview and more precise reporting of the dock changes and added facilities would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response groups information into a short introduction and a main paragraph, and it uses some linking expressions such as “At the time of 2000” and “but.” However, the ideas do not progress in a clear, organised way: several separate changes are packed into one long paragraph, and the final sentence, “Porth Harbour got many changes by the time as,” is unfinished and disrupts the ending. The list of facilities in the second sentence also repeats “fishing boats” and does not establish a useful comparison. Organise the report into a brief overview followed by paragraphs comparing the northern and southern areas, and use clear references such as “the former marina basin” to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant topic vocabulary, including “Marina (private yachts),” “passenger ferries,” “public beach,” and “lifeboat,” which helps communicate the map changes. There is also some attempt to describe change with “upgrades” and “replaced.” However, word choice and collocation are often awkward or repetitive: “car parking areas,” “one showers and toilet place,” and “changed with each others” are not natural descriptions. “Design” is also less precise than “layout” for these plans, while “upgrades” is too general to summarise the specific redevelopment. Use accurate map-reporting phrases such as “car parks,” “showers and toilets,” “were swapped,” and “was converted into” to make the descriptions clearer and more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect ideas in longer sentences, for example with “but” and “where,” and the main changes can generally be understood. However, control of sentence structure and basic agreement is inconsistent. The opening “The graphics shows” has subject–verb disagreement, and “Cafe and shops was not included” also has incorrect agreement. In “At the time of 2000, there are,” the tense shifts from the past to the present, and the final clause is incomplete. Several sentences join many ideas without clear punctuation, making relationships harder to follow. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions of the 2000 plan and use shorter, complete sentences alongside complex ones; check agreement and sentence endings during revision.

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