Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-18

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 4.5)

The map illustrates the sea ship shelter in the period of 2000 and nowadays. I will compare the future and past.

Well, according to this given map, on the west side there is a main road which is linked to many different locations. In the south, a linking road leads to a hotel and café shops. However, there is a private beach for hotel customers. Next, there is a car park and public toilet, also linked with private yachts. Actually, there are two car parks on this road and also two showers and toilets for public facilities. The public beach and dock are located in the north-east area.

Nowadays, Porth Harbour has a similar look to the past. Everything is the same, just maintaining the previous structure in a good way for visitors. There is no major difference between nowadays and the past.A good transport and improvement in structure maintenance

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to adequately cover the key changes shown in the maps. The student incorrectly claims that 'Everything is the same' and that there is 'no major difference between nowadays and the past,' which completely misinterprets the significant transformations, such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of new amenities like cafés and shops, and the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel. Furthermore, the introduction contains inappropriate conversational filler and personal intent ("I will compare the future and past"). While the minimum length requirement is met, the core features of the visual data are missed or incorrectly denied, leading to a low band score under Task Achievement descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.5

The organization of the response is weak and lacks a logical structure appropriate for an academic report. The text is broken into short, disjointed paragraphs and stray sentence fragments, such as the concluding phrase 'A good transport and improvement in structure maintenance'. Cohesive devices are either missing or used awkwardly, with abrupt transitions like 'Well, according to this given map...' and repetitive use of 'Next, there is...' referencing is sometimes unclear, and the paragraphing does not adequately separate the introduction, body overview, and conclusion. Overall progression is hindered by these structural flaws.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and frequently inaccurate. The student refers to the harbor as a "sea ship shelter" and uses conversational or imprecise phrasing such as "nowadays" excessively. While some correct terms appear (e.g., "car park", "private yachts", "public beach"), the range is limited and inadequate for a precise comparison of maps. There are noticeable word-choice limitations that restrict the clarity of the descriptions, failing to demonstrate the flexibility or precision expected at higher band levels.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and moderately complex sentence forms (e.g., "...on the west side there is a main road which is linked to many different locations."), but grammatical control is inconsistent. There are incomplete sentences and awkward fragments towards the end, such as "A good transport and improvement in structure maintenance." While basic structures are generally understandable, errors in tense usage (mixing past interpretations with present descriptions) and phrasing detract from overall accuracy.

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

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