Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17
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 illustrate how the Porth harbour looked in 2000 and now, after major developments.
Overall, the main road is located in the same place on the west side of the port, while many other facilities and activities have been introduced for visitors. The area for fishing boats and private yachts has been replaced.
The south side of the harbour undergoes significant changes, such as a beach that was public in 2000; now it's a private beach owned by nearby hotels. New cafes and shops have been built for tourists adjacent to the lifeboat area. Although a new dock has been added to today's plan, the beach area for locals and passenger ferries remains at the same point.
The castle in the southeast corner has been demolished; new hotels and restaurants have been constructed in that place, which offer visitors a beautiful view of the beach. Due to the high number of visitors, one more car park area, showers, and toilets have been added on the west side of the map.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all parts of the task by reporting the main features of Porth harbour in 2000 and today, including key transformations such as the swapping of the fishing boats and marina, the addition of cafes and shops, and the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel and private beach. A clear overall trend is provided, noting that while the main road remained unchanged, numerous tourist facilities were introduced. However, there are minor factual inaccuracies or generalisations, such as stating that 'nearby hotels' were built when the plan shows a single hotel, and referring to multiple new restaurants which are not explicitly labelled on the visual. Despite these minor discrepancies, the response adequately meets the core requirements of Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is logically organized with a clear introduction, overview paragraph, and body paragraphs detailing specific spatial and structural changes. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, as seen in transitions like 'Overall,' and 'Although a new dock has been added...'. Paragraphing is appropriate and logical, separating the general summary from specific regional alterations. However, referencing is occasionally slightly imprecise, and overall progression could be smoother to avoid a somewhat disjointed sentence-by-sentence feel. Nevertheless, the arrangement is coherent and easy to follow throughout.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an Academic Task 1 response, successfully employing appropriate geographical and architectural terms such as 'demolished,' 'constructed,' 'relocated,' and 'facilities.' There are successful attempts at less common vocabulary items, such as 'significant changes' and 'adjacent to.' Some minor word choice or collocation errors occur, such as writing 'the Porth harbour' (article error) and 'undergoes significant changes' (shifting tense/aspect unexpectedly when describing a past map comparison). Spelling is accurate, and the lexical range is sufficient to convey the intended meaning clearly without impeding communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including the use of subordinate clauses introduced by 'while,' 'although,' and 'such as.' Grammatical control is generally fair, with several error-free sentences present. However, there are notable inconsistencies in tense usage (e.g., mixing past tense descriptions with present tense like 'undergoes,' 'now it is,' 'remain') and punctuation slips, such as comma splices or informal contractions ('it's'). While these errors occur, they rarely impede overall communication or render the text difficult to understand.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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