Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-21

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 given maps indicate a harbour in 2000 and the way it seems today.

Overall, the location of marina and fishing boats get interchanged before and after the plans. Moreover, castle that used to be at the east of lifeboat is now replaces with the hotel. Cafés and shops are currently introduced next to the lifeboat. More showers and toilets are constructed today.

To begin with, marina was located in 2000 at the east of showers and toilets and car parks which is now shift to east of currently install showers and toilets. In addition, 2 Dock in 2000 were present north to the passenger ferries that are 3 at present day lie west to it. Plan of 2000 did not include any cafes and shops for visitors this facility is easily available in harbour. Previously only public beach was built now there is availability of private beach and another beach foe the hotel residents.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the harbour's transformation, such as the addition of the hotel, cafes, and the reconfiguration of the marina and docks. However, the description is occasionally inaccurate or confusing. For example, stating that the marina and fishing boats were 'interchanged' is not clearly supported by the visual evidence, and the description of the docks is difficult to follow. While the main trends are identified, the lack of precision in reporting locations and the failure to clearly contrast the 2000 layout with the current one limits the effectiveness of the summary. A more structured approach, grouping changes by area or type, would improve the clarity of the report.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the flow of ideas is often disjointed. The use of cohesive devices is mechanical and sometimes misused, such as 'To begin with,' which does not logically introduce the second paragraph. Referencing is also problematic; phrases like 'which is now shift to east' and 'that are 3 at present day' make it difficult for the reader to track the information. While there is an overall attempt at a logical progression, the lack of clear signposting and the awkward sentence structures hinder the coherence of the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'get interchanged,' 'currently introduced,' and 'install showers.' The student relies on basic descriptive language, and there is a lack of more sophisticated vocabulary related to map description (e.g., 'relocated,' 'expanded,' 'demolished,' 'converted'). While the meaning is generally conveyed, the errors in word form and usage are noticeable and occasionally impede the flow of the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('marina and fishing boats get interchanged'), incorrect tense usage ('is now replaces'), and missing articles ('castle that used to be,' 'next to the lifeboat'). Additionally, there are awkward phrasings like 'that are 3 at present day lie west to it.' These errors are persistent and require the reader to re-read sentences to understand the intended meaning, which is characteristic of the Band 5 level.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.