Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-16

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 4.0)

The map illustrates Porth Harbour in 2000 and today, However from 2000 to today many shops are transformed in the beach.

Porth Harbour in 2000 western side is Main road eastern side is Public beach 2 ways for entry public beach the passengers femes are travel by the dock their are 2 docks in the south side one road from travelling to the main road to road north side was car park besides that fishing boats in the public beach beside their was one of the Castle (disused) however main road side to car park and back side it was a Showers toilets for people can use one more thing was Marina (private yachts).

Porth Harbour in today's Castle was replaced with Hotel sourther side public beach replaced with private beach for couples or lovers who want spend time privately wester side one of the cafes & shops in the beach their are 2 docks replaced with another one more dock added showers was & toilets are two Marina was shifited to Fishing boats, fishing boats shified to Marina (private yachts).

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to compare the map of Porth Harbour in 2000 and today, noting several key developments such as the replacement of the castle with a hotel and the relocation of the marina and fishing boats. However, the task achievement is significantly undermined by severe organisational flaws, run-on structures, and incorrect assertions, such as claiming that 'many shops are transformed in the beach'. While the student manages to identify some visible changes, the lack of a proper overview and numerous misinterpretations of the visual data restrict the response to Band 4.0 according to official descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

Coherence and cohesion are severely compromised in this response. The essay lacks proper paragraphing in the body, presenting long, confused strings of clauses separated only by commas or periods without logical transitions. The progression of ideas is difficult to follow, and referencing between sentences is frequently unclear or absent, making it hard for the reader to understand spatial relationships. Conjunctions and cohesive devices are misused or entirely missing, resulting in an unorganised text that aligns with Band 4.0 descriptors.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The lexical resource is very basic and repetitive. The student relies heavily on direct lifting of labels from the prompt, such as 'Main road', 'Public beach', 'Marina (private yachts)', and 'Fishing boats', while struggling to produce appropriate descriptive verbs or nouns. Word choice errors are frequent, such as 'femes' instead of ferries, 'sourther' instead of southern, and awkward phrasing like 'lovers who want spend time privately'. Because vocabulary limitations and spelling errors occasionally strain the reader's understanding, the score reflects Band 4.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

Grammatical control is extremely weak throughout the text. The response consists almost entirely of poorly constructed simple sentences, fragmented clauses, and run-on sentences lacking proper verbs, punctuation, or conjunctions (e.g., 'Porth Harbour in 2000 western side is Main road eastern side is Public beach...'). There is a near-total absence of accurate complex structures, and frequent errors in basic sentence construction heavily distort meaning and impede communication, placing the response firmly at Band 4.0.

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

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