Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-19
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 6.0)
The maps compares the look of Porth harbor between year 2000 and today.
Overall, the position of the most of the structures have not been chaged between all those years. Some new buildings have been constructed and some older building have been repurpused.
The position of the showers and toilets, and car parks has not been changed. Only the access road of larger car park at the south side is relocated form smaller road to main road. A new structure for showers has been made. The location of Marina and the fishing boats have been interchanged.
A brand new building for cafe and shops has been made besdie the lifeboat location. A new road has been made to access the disused castle and this castle has been reconstracted to be used as Hotel now. And, the beach beside the hotel is now only restricted to the hotel which was previously open for all.
A new dock has been built just next to the old dock. Now there are two docks. The location of the public beach east of the dock is currently at the same place just like the passenger ferries' location.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers all parts of the task well, successfully summarising the main changes and comparisons between Porth harbour in 2000 and today. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, noting that some structures changed while others remained the same. Key features, such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of a hotel replacing the disused castle, and the new cafes and shops, are clearly reported. However, some minor details contain minor inaccuracies or lack precision, such as stating that the position of showers, toilets and car parks has not been changed, whereas a second car park and shower block was actually added in the south-west. Despite this, the response is well-supported with relevant details from the visual data, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or 7.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response exhibits a clear overall logical arrangement, moving from an introduction and overview to specific spatial changes across different areas of the harbour. Paragraphing is used to group related changes, such as infrastructure modifications, commercial additions, and accommodation updates. Cohesive devices are generally handled adequately, with transitions like 'Overall', 'Only', and 'And' helping to guide the reader. However, some cohesive links feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in their structure, and referencing could be smoother in places. Overall, the progression of information is easy to follow, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 6.5 to 7.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a map comparison task, successfully utilising terms such as 'structures', 'repurpused', 'relocated', and 'interchanged'. Less common lexical items are attempted, though there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice and spelling, such as 'chaged' for changed, 'repurpused' for repurposed, 'reconstracted' for reconstructed, and 'besdie' for beside. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the score from reaching the higher bands where greater precision and control of less common vocabulary are required. The lexical range is sufficient for the task.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
A mix of simple and complex sentence structures is used throughout the essay. The student attempts various structures, such as passive voice ('have been constructed', 'has been repurpused') and dependent clauses ('which was previously open for all'). However, there are frequent minor grammatical and mechanical errors, including missing articles ('as Hotel now'), preposition issues ('at the same place just like'), and spelling mistakes in verb forms. While these errors are noticeable and detract from grammatical accuracy, they rarely impede overall communication. The control of grammar corresponds to a solid Band 6 level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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