Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · 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 4.0)

The main road in the west and entrance the harbour, then itsstart from the car parking the the north side area was showers and toilets then next area was marina private yachts then in the opposite areawas in the south is fishing boats the nxt was harbour where the boats was running with he passenger felles and the other area was there is dock. In the south area was lifeboat tat was connected to the road with car park and in the south the area was for public beach and in the east area was that was near this area is castle disused. Now, main road connected with the two car park and that has two showers and toilet area the one area in the north is fishing boats and in the south is marina private yachtsthen next area in the middle is same horbour with passenger but now have two dock and in the south side area is develope and has cafe and shops and life boat connected with road in the south area has private beach with the hotel and in east another hotel area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response attempts to describe the changes to Porth Harbour between 2000 and today. However, the candidate struggles to convey the spatial arrangement accurately and misses a clear overview. Key transformations, such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, are described in a very confused manner ('in the opposite areawas in the south is fishing boats...'). Many parts of the text are extremely difficult to follow due to poor sentence construction and scrambled details. While some features like the new cafés, shops, and hotel are mentioned, the overall task is only partially addressed due to severe clarity and organisational issues. This places the response in Band 4.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0

Cohesion and coherence are major weaknesses in this response. The entire text consists of two massive run-on sentences that lack proper punctuation and paragraphing. Ideas are lumped together without logical progression or clear transitions between features. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused ('then itsstart', 'the nxt was'), making it very hard for the reader to follow the spatial relationships between the two maps. Paragraphs are not used at all to separate the introduction, body details, or overview. Therefore, the response aligns with Band 4.0 descriptors for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 4.0

The vocabulary used is basic, repetitive, and heavily reliant on direct copying or misremembering of terms from the prompt ('car parking', 'passenger felles', 'life boat', 'horbour'). There is a lack of control over word choice and collocation, with frequent spelling errors ('nxt', 'develope') and non-standard phrasing. The lexical range is severely limited, restricting the student's ability to describe trends or comparisons precisely (using terms like 'other area' repeatedly instead of specific geographical markers). This performance corresponds to a Band 4.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting almost entirely of poorly controlled compound-run-on structures joined by coordinating conjunctions like 'and' or 'then'. There are virtually no error-free sentences. Frequent errors include missing subjects, incorrect verb tenses, faulty word order, and severe punctuation failures (e.g., lack of full stops or commas to separate clauses). These grammatical inaccuracies frequently distort meaning and cause significant strain for the reader, fitting the Band 4.0 criteria.

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

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