Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-24
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 map illustrates the porth harbour in 2000 and how it looks today after some developments.
Overall, the harbour grew more towards tourism. The development of some areas can be seen today, which are hotel, showers and toilets, cafes and shops, while some areas remain as it is, which are the public beach on the northern end, lifeboat and car parking.
To begin with, the major development is the castle converted into the hotel, followed by the public beach near castle converted into private beach of hotel. In addition, the new cafes is opened just beside the lifeboat and near the road which connects to hotel.
In 2000, dock was only one, which doubled today, along with one new passenger ferries. In the west end of the porth harbour contains two car parking and only one shower and toilets in 2000, and with developed and a new showers and toileting area opened. The area of fishing boats and marina have swoped and took each others place by tpday.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the harbour development, such as the conversion of the castle into a hotel and the expansion of docking facilities. However, the description is sometimes imprecise. For instance, stating that the fishing boats and marina 'swoped' (swapped) places is a good observation, but the overall summary lacks a clear, analytical overview of the transformation from a functional harbour to a more tourism-oriented site. Some details, like the specific mention of 'showers and toileting area', are slightly repetitive. To reach a higher band, ensure that the overview highlights the most significant trends rather than just listing changes.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs focusing on specific changes. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'In addition', and 'In 2000' are used to guide the reader. However, the flow is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'which are hotel, showers and toilets', where articles are missing. The referencing is sometimes unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where the connection between the west end developments and the overall harbour layout could be smoother. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different stages of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing for the description of the harbour's features. There are some attempts at less common vocabulary, such as 'converted' and 'developments'. However, there are noticeable errors in word choice and spelling, such as 'swoped' instead of 'swapped' and 'toileting area' which is slightly unnatural in this context. Additionally, the lack of articles (e.g., 'which are hotel' instead of 'which are a hotel') impacts the precision of the writing. Expanding the range of descriptive verbs and ensuring correct collocations would improve the score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentences, but grammatical errors are frequent. There are consistent issues with article usage ('the' or 'a' is often missing) and pluralisation, such as 'new cafes is opened' (should be 'new cafes have opened'). The sentence structure is sometimes repetitive, and there are minor errors in verb tense consistency when comparing the two time periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to suggest a lack of control over complex structures. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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