Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-24
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 diagram compares a Porth Harbour between 2000 and present day.
Overall, the porth harbour has undergone redeveloped and transformed some existing areas. The major changes are the swap or exchange of Marina and fishing boats, converting castle into hotel while changing public beach into private beach.
In 2000, there was marina (private yachts) in northeast side and below it southern part there was fishing boats along with two areas for car park connected with road. In southeast, there was a castle near it was a public beach.
In present, there has been a lot of change. Showers and toilets is added between the car park. The marina and fishing boats location has swap. Alongside of marina new cafes and shops has opened. In adddition, the road is constructed where castle is transformed into hotel with private beach for the hotel only. Similarly, in northeast side extra dock is added.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making clear comparisons between the two maps of Porth Harbour in 2000 and the present day. The candidate provides a clear overview in the introduction mentioning the major developments, such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, the conversion of the castle into a hotel, and changes to the beaches. Key features like the addition of cafés and shops, the extra dock, and the hotel with its private beach are accurately reported. However, the description contains some minor geographic inaccuracies regarding the initial locations in 2000 (e.g., stating the marina was in the northeast rather than the northern inland basin), which prevents it from reaching a higher band. Nevertheless, the main trends are successfully captured.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged coherently with a clear overall progression from an introductory overview to specific details of the past and present layouts. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the 2000 layout, and present-day changes. Cohesive devices are generally deployed to guide the reader, such as 'Overall', 'In 2000', and 'In present'. However, referencing and transitions are sometimes mechanical or abrupt, as seen with 'In present, there has been a lot of change' and occasional awkward phrasing ('In adddition'). Progression within paragraphs could be smoother to better link related spatial features. Overall, the organizational structure is logical and easy to follow, supporting the flow of information.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms related to maps and harbour features such as 'marina', 'fishing boats', 'passenger ferries', 'car park', and 'dock'. There are clear attempts to use less common vocabulary like 'redeveloped', 'transformed', and 'relocated'. However, there are noticeable lexical and word-choice errors, such as 'has undergone redeveloped' (instead of redevelopment), 'swap or exchange' (used awkwardly as nouns), and 'In present' (instead of At present or Nowadays). Additionally, there are spelling slips like 'adddition'. These errors do not impede communication, but they restrict the lexical score to a Band 6.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and introductory prepositional phrases (e.g., 'In 2000, there was marina...'). There is good control over basic structures, and many sentences are grammatically sound. However, the student makes several grammatical errors throughout the text, including article omission ('there was marina', 'where castle is transformed'), subject-verb agreement issues ('The marina and fishing boats location has swap'), and awkward verb tense/form combinations ('has undergone redeveloped'). Punctuation is generally acceptable, but structural inaccuracies persist in complex constructions, placing the grammar score firmly in the Band 6 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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