Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-23

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 7.0)

The maps illustrate the changes that have taken place at Porth Harbour between 2000 and the present day.

Overall, the harbour has undergone significant development. The main changes include the construction of a hotel, cafés and shops, the expansion of facilities for visitors, and the conversion of the public beach into a private beach. The fishing-boat area and marina, however, have remained in place.

In 2000, there were two car parks and a shower and toilet facility on the western side of the harbour, next to the main road. A marina for private yachts was located further east, while fishing boats were situated to its south. In the northern part of the harbour, there was a dock and a passenger-ferry service. A public beach was also located on the eastern side, close to a disused castle.

Today, the fishing-boat area has been moved to the north-western part of the harbour, and the marina remains in the south-west. Additional showers and toilets have been built, while the two car parks are still present. The dock and passenger-ferry facilities remain in roughly the same area, although the dock has been expanded.

Several new facilities have also been introduced. Cafés and shops have been built beside the road, and the former disused castle has been replaced by a hotel. The beach near the hotel is now a private beach for hotel guests, whereas the public beach in the north-east remains available to the public

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student has successfully covered all parts of the task by reporting the main features of Porth Harbour in 2000 and today, making relevant comparisons throughout. The overview paragraph clearly captures the most important developments, such as the addition of the hotel, cafés, and shops, as well as the conversion of the public beach. However, there is a minor factual inaccuracy in the overview: the student states that "The fishing-boat area and marina, however, have remained in place," whereas the map clearly shows that the marina and fishing-boat areas swapped locations between 2000 and today. Despite this slight misreading of the spatial data, the body paragraphs describe the specific shifts in layout reasonably well, earning a solid band score for covering the requirements adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The response is logically organised with a clear overall progression. It begins with an introductory paragraph, moves to a concise overview, and then details the past layout followed by present-day changes. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different temporal periods and aspects of the harbour. Cohesive devices such as "In 2000," "Today," and "whereas" are used effectively to guide the reader through the comparisons. Referencing is generally clear, though transitional flow between sentences could occasionally be smoother to match higher bands.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates a sufficient and generally accurate range of vocabulary appropriate for an Academic Task 1 response. Phrases like "undergone significant development," "construction of a hotel," and "conversion of the public beach" show a good level of precision. Less common lexical items are attempted with some awareness of style and collocation, such as "retained in roughly the same area." There are occasional minor generalisations or slips in interpretation, but vocabulary usage never impedes communication and effectively conveys the intended meanings regarding spatial transformations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.5

The response exhibits a good variety of sentence structures, mixing simple and complex forms effectively. Examples include relative clauses ("the beach near the hotel is now a private beach..." and concessive clauses ("although the dock has been expanded"). The majority of sentences are error-free, and grammatical control is consistently strong. Punctuation is accurate, and verb tenses are handled correctly to shift between past states and present changes. The control of grammar aligns well with the descriptors for a band 8.

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