Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-20
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 first map shows the situation of he Porth Harbour in 2000, whereas second one potrays its present developments.
A glance at the maps reveal that major developments are invisaged. The Castle is replaced by the Hotel and development of acomodations is seen.
The south eastern side undergoes major developments with the removel of public beach and addtition of private beach, furthermore the Castel is replaced by the Hotel and a transport path is developed which gives conectivity to the main raod.Similarly, cafes and shops were constructed on the other side of road just between the Lifeboat and the Marina yachts .
On the other hand, extra dock was developed in the northeastern side of the port giving aceess to more people.The northwestern Marina yachts were slayed to be replaced by the southwestern fishing boats . An extra refreshing rooms were added in the southwestern area. Overall, it can be seen that the previous Harbour is now developed with an increased facilaties ,which can be easily available for both the private as well as pucblic sectors.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response attempts to summarise the main features of the maps, noting key changes such as the replacement of the castle with a hotel, the addition of shops and cafés, and the swapping of the marina and fishing boats. However, there are some inaccuracies in reporting spatial relationships and features, such as stating that the public beach was removed when it was actually replaced by a private beach while another public beach remained in the north-east, and minor confusions regarding the exact placement of some amenities. The overview is somewhat basic. Overall, the response addresses the prompt reasonably well, but the lack of precise detail and minor misinterpretations keep it at Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is divided into an introduction and several body paragraphs, providing a logical framework for the comparison. Cohesive devices such as 'furthermore', 'similarly', and 'on the other hand' are used to connect ideas, although some transitions feel a bit mechanical or forced. Paragraphing is attempted, but the grouping of ideas lacks smooth progression. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as pronoun or spatial references that do not completely align with the map details. Overall arrangement is coherent, earning a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'developments', 'invisaged' (misspelled), and 'connectivity'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'potrays', 'acomodations', 'removel', 'addtition', 'Castel', 'raod', 'conectivity', 'aceess', 'slayed', and 'facilaties'. These lexical errors and awkward collocations ('slayed to be replaced') detract from the overall quality, though communication is generally maintained. This corresponds to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using 'whereas' and relative clauses. However, grammatical errors are frequent, particularly with articles ('the Hotel'), prepositions, and spelling which bleeds into structural readability. Sentences like 'A glance at the maps reveal' demonstrate subject-verb agreement issues. While the meaning remains mostly clear, the accumulation of grammatical and mechanical inaccuracies prevents the score from reaching a higher band. A score of 5.5 is appropriate here.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.