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 diagrams below illustrates the comparison of the layout of the Porth harbour in 2000 and at present.

Overall, the infrastructure underwent significant modernization. The location of the car parking areas and bathroom have not altered. Afterwards, one of the public beach was modified into the isolated one. Another dock was introduced for more ferries. A substantial number of amenities are added today.

In 2000, there was a casel along the south side, but it has converted into a hotel. The wherabouts of the personal and public boats have been swaped at present. A plethora of cafes and shops have been introduced adajcent to lifeboat for tourists. In the past, there were only two docks; however, now another one have been constructed for more convenience.

A number of restrooms have been introduced adjacent to the parking alots. The beach that was along the south was transformed into a private one for the hotel residents.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers the main changes shown in the maps, such as the construction of the hotel, the relocation of the marina and fishing boats, and the addition of cafés and shops. However, there are some inaccuracies and vague statements, such as mentioning 'another dock was introduced for more ferries' when the dock features an extra jetty rather than a brand new dock structure. The overview captures the overall modernization, but some key features are under-developed or described with minor factual slips. Consequently, this falls under Band 6 because it addresses all parts of the task with relevant ideas, though some features are reported with slight imprecision or lack full expansion.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall progression, moving from an introductory statement and an overview paragraph into specific details in the body paragraphs. Paragraphing is attempted, though the division could be structured more logically. Cohesive devices are used, but some transitions are rather mechanical or abrupt, such as 'Afterwards' and 'In 2000, there was a casel'. Referencing is generally clear, but occasional clunky transitions between sentences pull down the flow. Overall, the essay meets the criteria for Band 6 due to its coherent overall arrangement and use of basic cohesive devices, despite some awkward linking.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms like 'infrastructure', 'modernization', 'amenities', and 'isolated'. However, there are multiple spelling and word-choice errors, including 'casel' instead of 'castle', 'wherabouts' instead of 'whereabouts', 'swaped' instead of 'swapped', and 'adajcent' instead of 'adjacent'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they reflect a lack of precision that prevents the lexical score from reaching Band 7. The vocabulary is minimally sufficient to convey the intended meaning, supporting a Band 6 rating.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'While the diagrams below illustrate...' and 'In 2000, there was a casel along the south side, but it has converted into a hotel.' However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing throughout, including subject-verb agreement issues ('one of the public beach', 'another one have been constructed') and passive voice inaccuracies ('it has converted into a hotel' instead of 'it has been converted'). These errors occur frequently enough to impact the overall control of grammar, placing the response firmly at Band 5.0 due to structural faults and grammar slips that cause some difficulty for the reader.

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

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