Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-31

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 6.0)

The map illustrates the changes in Porth Harbour after redevelopment in present time with a comparison of its infrastructure in 2000.

Overall, after redevelopment Porth Harbour reflects changes that are modern and commercialized to cater to the needs of people. Many facilities have been added like hotel, public and private beach, cafes and shops, docks, private yachts, fishing boats, car parks, shower and toilets.

One of the most important development was of connection of main road to car parks in east. Above each car park, showers and toilets are placed for easy access whereas in 2000 there was only one are for shower and toilets. Moreover, fishing boats area was swapped with private yachts for commercialization to provide Marina more space.

In the north-east, Porth Harbour only had one dock in 2000 and after redevelopment another dock was added. Furthermore, Passenger ferries and public beach in the east of dock demonstrated no visible changes. At the south end, main road branches into another road that leads to two areas: hotel and lifeboat. Castle, was reconstructed into a hotel with a private beach in the west. Lifeboat depicts no changes to it but cafes and shops were introduced to the west of lifeboat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

You have successfully identified the main features of the harbour redevelopment, including the addition of new facilities and infrastructure changes. You provided a clear overview and made relevant comparisons between 2000 and the present day. However, some details are slightly inaccurate or under-developed; for instance, you mention a 'private beach' in the west, whereas the map indicates the beach is public. Additionally, the description of the road layout could be more precise to help the reader visualize the changes more effectively. Overall, you covered all parts of the task well, providing a clear summary of the transformation.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs that group information by location or theme. You use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Furthermore', and 'In the north-east' to guide the reader through the changes. However, the flow is occasionally slightly mechanical, and some referencing is a bit repetitive. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different areas of the harbour. To reach a higher band, ensure that the transition between sentences is smoother and that the logical progression of ideas is more seamless throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'redevelopment', 'infrastructure', 'commercialized', and 'marina' appropriately. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'one are for shower' (likely a typo for 'area') and 'connection of main road to car parks' (which could be phrased more naturally). While you attempt to use more specific vocabulary, some phrasing remains slightly simplistic. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations related to map descriptions, such as 'situated to the west of' or 'underwent significant expansion'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is generally effective. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as missing articles ('to hotel and lifeboat', 'in east') and minor subject-verb agreement issues ('Castle, was reconstructed'). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. To improve, pay closer attention to the use of definite and indefinite articles and ensure that your sentence structures are consistently accurate when describing spatial relationships.

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

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