Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-07-28

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 6.5)

This plan illustrates the map of Harbour changes from 2000 to current time looks.

Overall, there are car parkings, Showers and toilets, lifeboat, Passenger ferries, public beaches and Fishing boats.

However, there are some new developments from last years. In 2000, there were two car parkings and beside one of them includes an area for shower and toilets but now another shower and toilet room is developed beside second car parking.

Another change is the position of Marine (private yachts) and Fishing boats are interchanged. Some new cafes and shops built on the road between Lifeboat and Marina . Previously there was only one Dock area which is now developed into 2 Dock areas. Similarly in past years, there were two public beaches located on both north and south side but now there is only one Northern public beach whereas second public beach is converted Hotel private beach. Currently Castle is turned into a Hotel on the Southern east side which has a linked road from the main road.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers the main features of the harbour's transformation, such as the addition of cafes, the conversion of the castle into a hotel, and the changes to the docks and beaches. However, the overview is weak; it simply lists features present in the harbour rather than summarising the significant trends or major changes as required by the task. The description of the changes is generally accurate, but the lack of a clear, analytical overview prevents it from reaching a higher band. To improve, ensure the overview highlights the most significant shifts, such as the commercialisation of the area and the reduction in public beach access.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is organised into a brief introduction and a body paragraph. While the information is generally logical, the paragraphing is insufficient; the entire body of the report should ideally be split into two or three paragraphs to better group related changes (e.g., infrastructure vs. commercial developments). Cohesive devices are used, such as 'However', 'Another change', and 'Similarly', but the flow is somewhat mechanical. The referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'beside one of them includes an area', which lacks a clear subject-verb connection. Better paragraphing would significantly improve the readability and logical progression of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe the changes clearly. There are some attempts at more specific vocabulary, such as 'interchanged', 'commercialised' (implied), and 'developments'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice, such as 'current time looks' and 'car parkings' (the plural 'parkings' is non-standard; 'car parks' is preferred). The repetition of 'shower and toilet' and 'public beach' suggests a limited range of synonyms. To reach a higher band, the student should focus on using more precise collocations and avoiding repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' is often missing or misused, e.g., 'beside second car parking') and prepositions. Subject-verb agreement is also inconsistent, as seen in 'beside one of them includes'. While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. The student should focus on mastering basic sentence construction, specifically ensuring that every sentence has a clear subject and a correctly conjugated verb, and paying closer attention to the use of definite and indefinite articles.

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