Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-22
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)
As the plan below illustrates a harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.
Starting with the location of public beach that still remains at the same place where it was in 2000. Following this the place of showers and toilets, car park and main road still remains at the west of the harbour from 2000 till today. Moreover passenger ferries stays at the center of the Porth Harbour from 2000 to now. In contrast, the location of marine and fishing boats stays at the west, but in 2000 the marine was at north side and fishing boats at south, but today their sides are swapped.
Nevertheless the lifeboat, road and private beach remains at the same path from 2000 to the present days. Additionally the cafes and shops are located today within lifeboat and in place of castle which was disused there is hotel today. Whereas, at first the dock was outside but today it is inside.
Overall, there is no such changes in Porth Harbour from 2000 till present days, just a few things are added like cafes and shops and shower and toilets are doubled.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to address the task by describing some changes between the two maps of Porth Harbour, such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of cafes and shops, and the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel. However, the response falls short in several areas. Crucially, the opening sentence is grammatically incomplete ('As the plan below illustrates...'), setting an awkward tone, and the overview contains an inaccurate claim that 'there is no such changes', which contradicts the significant modifications observed on the plans. Furthermore, some spatial descriptions are vague or inaccurate, and key features like the changes to the docks and beaches are only partially explored. This places the response firmly at Band 5, as it addresses the task only partially with limited development of ideas and an unclear overview.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response has a basic structure with paragraphs attempting to group different areas of the harbour. Cohesive devices are used to link sentences, such as 'Starting with', 'Following this', 'Moreover', and 'In contrast'. However, referencing and progression are sometimes faulty. For instance, transitional phrases feel mechanical, and the logical flow between sentences is occasionally disjointed, such as the abrupt shift in the final paragraph regarding the dock. Paragraphing is also somewhat erratic, with very short paragraphs that do not fully develop thematic groups of information. Overall arrangement provides a simple progression, matching the criteria for Band 5, where some organisation is present but overall progression lacks clarity.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student uses a limited but minimally adequate range of vocabulary appropriate to the prompt, successfully incorporating terms like 'passenger ferries', 'marina', 'fishing boats', and 'lifeboat'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as using 'marine' instead of 'marina', and stating that locations 'stay at the west' or 'stay on the same path'. Repetition of basic verbs like 'remains', 'stays', and 'is' restricts the vocabulary range. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the lexical limitations and word choice errors mean that the vocabulary falls into Band 5, causing occasional difficulty and lacking the precision needed for higher bands.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but the control over grammar is weak. The very first sentence is a fragment introduced by 'As', which fails to form a complete independent clause. There are frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'passenger ferries stays' (subject-verb agreement error), 'cafes and shops are located today within lifeboat', and 'in place of castle which was disused there is hotel today' (missing articles and prepositions). While the meaning is usually retrievable despite these errors, the high frequency of inaccurate complex structures and minor slips keeps the grammar score at Band 5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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