Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-25
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)
There are two plans that demonstrate the condition of the harbour in 2000 and it's current phase.
Overall, the western and north eastern areas of the harbour provides the same facilities like before with slight additions and shiftings. However, the southern area have changed the infrastructure from public space to private area.
The current western side of the harbour is identical to the one in 2000, showers and toilets are added in the southern part of it while Marina private yachts and fishing boats places have been switched with each other. The dock opposite to lifeboat on the north eastern part is still use for passenger ferries that leads to the public beach.
An addition to the road connecting the main road been made so that it can connect the hotel site which was earlier a castle. The beach on the coastline beside the hotel is now private and used by the hotel to entertain its guests. Cafes and and shops are also built to cater the people coming to the hotel. Since commercial activity will increase due to such developments, an extra dock has been built for the passenger ferries.
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 attempts to summarise the main changes between the two plans of Porth Harbour in 2000 and today. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting structural shifts and the transition from public to private spaces in the south. Key changes are reported, such as the switching of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of cafes and shops, and the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel and private beach. However, there are minor inaccuracies and omissions in reporting specific details, such as the exact nature of the dock extensions and the persistent public beach in the north-east. The response adequately addresses the prompt, but the development of certain features lacks precision, placing it solidly in the Band 6 range.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged into four paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and an overview, followed by body paragraphs detailing the western and eastern/southern changes. Cohesion is generally maintained, though some transitions and referencing feel a bit mechanical or imprecise, such as 'The current western side of the harbour is identical to the one in 2000, showers and toilets are added...' (which creates a comma splice). Paragraphing is used logically to group the spatial features, but the flow between sentences can occasionally be abrupt. Overall, the organisation is coherent enough to follow the comparisons, matching the Band 6 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully employing terms like 'infrastructure', 'facilities', 'commercial activity', and 'relocated' (though 'shiftings' and 'switched' are also used). There are several lexical errors and awkward phrasings, such as 'it's current phase' (incorrect use of apostrophe), 'fishing boats places' (unnatural collocation), and the repetition in 'Cafes and and shops'. Less common items are attempted with mixed success. While communication is not impeded, these frequent minor errors and limitations in precision prevent the score from reaching Band 7.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The candidate attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional or relative-style clauses ('which was earlier a castle' and 'Since commercial activity will increase...'). However, there are notable grammatical errors and punctuation flaws throughout, including comma splices ('...in 2000, showers and toilets are added...'), subject-verb agreement issues ('the southern area have changed'), and missing articles ('the hotel site'). While simple sentences are generally accurate and meaning remains clear, the frequency of structural errors keeps the score at Band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.