Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-05
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 5.5)
The ideas illustrates about a Porth Harbour how it looks in 2000 and today. Some many new places are present in today map.
Overall, in 2000 there no hotel present near beach however today it has hotel with private beach. Other places are well constructed with different traits of area. Whereas today Porth Harbour looks developed and organized.
In detail, in 2000 Porth Harbour was castle near the public beach in north side , While today it has hotel and private beach for hotel develop. In the above this road present in both map. Adjacent of road lifeboat present in both map while today a new cafes and shops rebuild to enhance the area business. Fishing boat replace with marina private yachts now. Moreover marina private yachts renovate with fishing boats current day. In 2000 the car parking was joined with road but now it joined with main road in the west side of map. Before one showers and toilet was there beside of main road while today two car park with two showers and toilet present. Near the public beach in 2000 only one dock was there while in today it expand to two dock with passenger ferries in the north of the map.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main features of the harbour, such as the addition of the hotel, the marina, and the expansion of the docks. However, the analysis is somewhat superficial and contains factual confusion, such as stating that fishing boats were replaced by yachts and then immediately stating that yachts were renovated with fishing boats. The overview is quite basic and lacks a clear summary of the most significant changes. While the task is addressed, the lack of clarity in describing the spatial relationships and the contradictory statements regarding the boats limit the development of the response.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow is frequently interrupted by awkward phrasing and unclear referencing. For example, the transition 'In the above this road present in both map' is difficult to follow. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover' and 'In detail', but they are often applied mechanically or incorrectly. The progression of ideas is hindered by the repetitive structure of the sentences, which makes it difficult for the reader to track the changes between the two time periods effectively.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is limited and often inaccurate, which sometimes impedes communication. Phrases like 'Some many new places' and 'different traits of area' are unnatural. There are also errors in word choice, such as 'rebuild' instead of 'rebuilt' and 'expand' instead of 'expanded'. The student attempts to use topic-specific vocabulary like 'marina' and 'passenger ferries', but the overall range is insufficient to convey the information with precision. Frequent errors in word formation and collocation are evident throughout the text.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and there are frequent grammatical errors throughout. Issues include missing articles ('in 2000 there no hotel'), incorrect verb tenses ('Fishing boat replace with marina'), and subject-verb agreement errors ('one showers and toilet was there'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces and misused commas. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of basic grammatical errors prevents the use of more complex structures and limits the overall accuracy of the writing.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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