Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The plans in the image illusrtates the structure of a Porth Harbour and it's changes between 2000 and today.
Overall, the harbour is a place of vacation that is located at sea. There were multiple beaches, passenger ferries, dock, car parks, fishing boats etc in 2000. If we look at it today, the struture of harbour remains same with minor changes. Some places are moved from one spot to another while some new places have been added.
If we look at the right side of harbour, there is a public beach at the end, a dock to it's left side and a passenger ferries in it's middle. On the other side, There is a castle which is disused, a life boat and a public beach. But now, there is a lttle change, The castle has been replaced with Hotel, public beach has been converted into a private beach and a cafe shop has been built on the left side of lifeboat.
In the left side of picture, there were two car parks and one shower and towels in 2000. But now, one more showers and toilets building has been added between car parks. The places of fishing boats and Marina have been replaced with each other.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by describing the main features of Porth Harbour in 2000 and today, noting changes such as the swapped locations of the marina and fishing boats, and the conversion of the castle into a hotel. However, the overview lacks precision and formal academic tone, featuring casual phrases like 'a place of vacation'. Several spatial descriptions are vague or inaccurate, such as referring to 'shower and towels' instead of toilets, and mischaracterising the layout. While key transformations are mentioned, the development is somewhat superficial and fails to synthesize the overall spatial reorganisation effectively, placing this response at Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is structured into four paragraphs, providing a basic framework with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing different sides of the harbour. However, logical progression is hindered by informal transitional expressions such as 'If we look at it today' and 'If we look at the right side of harbour'. Cohesive devices are repetitive and sometimes mechanical. Referencing is occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'a passenger ferries' (singular article with plural noun). Paragraphing is attempted but lacks sophisticated linking between sections, resulting in a Band 6.0 performance.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for communicating basic features of the maps, including words like 'structure', 'replaced', and 'converted'. However, there are notable lexical errors and inappropriate collocations, such as 'shower and towels' instead of 'showers and toilets', 'cafe shop' instead of 'cafés and shops', and 'a passenger ferries'. The range of vocabulary is limited and repetitive, lacking the precise lexical items required for academic map descriptions (e.g., 'relocated', 'transformed', 'situated'). This warrants a band score of 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Some places are moved from one spot to another while some new places have been added.' However, grammatical inaccuracies are frequent throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement errors ('the structure of harbour remains same', 'illusrtates'), missing articles ('to the right side of harbour', 'replaced with Hotel'), and non-standard passive constructions ('The places of fishing boats and Marina have been replaced with each other'). These errors occasionally cause strain for the reader, placing this criterion at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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