Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-05

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 7.0)

The two maps illustrate a gradual transformation of the Porth Harbour from 2000 to its present time.

Overall, there has been a considerable change including the remodeling of the former disused castle, privatization of the beach and few minor developments.

In detail, to the east of the main road, showers/toilets and were mirrored to south of the once second car park. The former area for ship mooring was replaced by the private yacht marina to provide increased capacity. In the eastern peninsula, as discussed the former castle was reinvented into a hotel and the beach was privatized. Meanwhile, the usage was specifically limited for the hotel guests. In addition, cafes and shops were installed near the road along the lifeboat station.

In the northern region, in order to incorporate more space for ship mooring, the harbour was equipped with one more dock on the west of the passenger ferries. However, passenger ferries and lifeboat station had no change and were in their original position. Throughout the period, many significant changes can be observed in the harbour to go one more gear towards tourism and leisure.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The response effectively identifies the main features of the harbour's transformation. You have successfully highlighted the key changes, such as the conversion of the castle into a hotel, the privatization of the beach, and the expansion of the mooring facilities. The overview provides a clear summary of the general trend towards tourism. However, some details are slightly imprecise, such as the description of the showers/toilets being 'mirrored to south', which is a bit confusing. To reach a higher band, ensure that spatial relationships are described with greater clarity and precision, perhaps by using more specific directional language to guide the reader through the map changes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The essay is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs that group information by location. You use cohesive devices such as 'In detail', 'Meanwhile', and 'In addition' to guide the reader. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and the referencing in the phrase 'as discussed the former castle' is unnecessary as it was not previously discussed in the text. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different areas of the harbour. Improving the flow between sentences would help the text feel more cohesive and less like a list of observations.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary appropriate for describing maps, such as 'transformation', 'remodeling', 'privatization', and 'reinvented'. There are some minor collocation issues, such as 'go one more gear towards', which is not a standard idiomatic expression in this context. Additionally, 'the usage was specifically limited for the hotel guests' is slightly awkward. While your vocabulary is sufficient to convey meaning clearly, incorporating more precise academic collocations would elevate the response. Overall, the range is adequate for the task, and communication is never impeded by your word choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'In order to incorporate more space... the harbour was equipped with...'. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'showers/toilets and were mirrored', where the inclusion of 'and' is redundant. Another error is 'to south of the once second car park', which lacks the necessary article 'the'. Despite these occasional errors, your control of grammar is generally good, and the meaning remains clear throughout the response. Increasing the variety of complex structures while ensuring subject-verb agreement would help improve this score.

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

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