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 maps illustrate the layout of a harbour in 2000 and now.
Overall, it is clear that the porth harbour has been undergone several changes. Including the construction new facilities( cafes and shops, and hotel), and relocation or removal of some existing structures. However, certain features such as lifeboat have remained unchanged.
Looking at first map, the castle beach was located in the southeast corner of the map. Morever, the fising boats and Marina(private yachts) was located in the western part of the map. In addition, public beach was situated in the northern and southern part of the map. However, showers and toilets was positioned beside the marina (private yachts). The car park was positioned beside the fising boats and marina(private yachts). The passenger ferries was located in the middle of the map. The dock was situated next to the pessenger ferries.
Turning to the second map, several noticeable changes can be observed. Firstly, cafes and shops have been newly built in the south part of the map. Moreover, the castle have been removed and replaced with the hotel. The dock underwent several refurbishment. The fising boats and marina experienced several changes. However, the southern public beach have been turned into the private beach. And the lifeboat stayed in the same location.
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 candidate successfully addresses the prompt by providing an overview of the main changes and making relevant comparisons between the two maps from 2000 and the present day. Key transformations, such as the relocation of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of cafés and shops, and the conversion of the disused castle into a hotel, are correctly identified and reported. However, some spatial descriptions contain minor inaccuracies regarding exact positioning, and the overview paragraph contains minor grammatical and punctuation flaws. Despite these limitations, the response covers all parts of the task adequately, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organized into four paragraphs, following a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing specific features of the maps. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'Looking at first map', and 'Turning to the second map'. However, some cohesive links feel somewhat mechanical or repetitive, and referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'the castle beach'). Paragraphing is used appropriately, but overall cohesion suffers from awkward transitions and punctuation errors within sentences, placing this criterion solidly at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting less common items such as 'relocation', 'refurbishment', and 'replacement'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('fising' instead of fishing, 'pessenger' instead of passenger, 'Morever') and word choice or collocation inaccuracies ('the porth harbour has been undergone several changes', 'the castle beach'). While the vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the main ideas, these frequent errors in spelling and word form prevent the response from achieving a higher band, making Band 6.0 the appropriate score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like passive voice ('have been newly built', 'have been removed and replaced') and prepositional phrases for location. However, there are numerous grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the fising boats and Marina... was located', 'the castle have been removed', 'the southern public beach have been turned'), tense errors ('has been undergone'), and missing articles. These errors occur frequently, although they rarely impede overall communication, reflecting the characteristics of Band 5.5 to 6.0. A score of 5.5 is awarded as the density of grammatical inaccuracies slightly outweighs error-free sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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