Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-21

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 5.0)

The map vdemonstrates the changes in a harbour from past to present.

Overall, map shows significant allocations. A hotel was is constructed in place of castle and public beach was conveted into private beach of hotel. Morevoer, a addittional cafe, and showers and toilets are added.

Twenty years ago, on the wast side of harbour was main road, two car parks and one showers and toilets. From main road one road went to lifeboat session and on east-south side there was a castle house and beach for public. Private yachts was on right side of and one car parking area while, boats for fishing was on right side of second bigger car park.

Nowadays, on the north-wast side of harbour a hotel is constructed and the public beach is altered into private hotel beach. Furthermore, a shower room is added with bigger car park and shops with cafe are added with lifeboat session.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to address the task by describing some of the main changes between the two maps, such as the construction of the hotel, the conversion of the public beach, and the addition of cafés and shops. However, the response lacks a clear and cohesive overview, which is a key requirement for Academic Task 1. Furthermore, there are several misinterpretations and inaccurate descriptions of spatial relationships and location swaps (for example, confusing the locations of the marina and fishing boats). The development of ideas is limited and under-developed, resulting in a partial fulfillment of the prompt's requirements. This places the response in the Band 5 range for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is divided into four paragraphs, which shows an attempt at logical structure (introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs covering different areas or timeframes). However, progression is hindered by awkward sequencing and mechanical or inaccurate cohesive devices. For instance, transitional phrases like 'Twenty years ago' and 'Nowadays' are used, but within paragraphs, referencing is frequently unclear (e.g., 'on the right side of and one car parking area'). Paragraphing is present, but overall coherence is disrupted by confusing spatial referencing, leading to a Band 5 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple terms and suffering from noticeable spelling and word-choice errors. Examples of lexical errors include 'vdemonstrates', 'allocations' (used instead of alterations or developments), 'conveted', 'addittional', 'wast' (west), and 'session' instead of station. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary related to the maps ('constructed', 'altered'), inaccurate word choice and spelling mistakes cause noticeable strain for the reader, aligning with Band 5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but attempts at complex structures are frequently faulty. There are numerous grammatical and mechanical errors throughout the response, including subject-verb agreement issues ('A hotel was is constructed', 'public beach was conveted'), missing articles ('on wast side', 'with cafe'), and prepositional errors. Although communication is not entirely impeded, the high frequency of grammatical inaccuracies means the majority of sentences are not error-free, corresponding to a Band 5 score.

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

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