Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-26
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 6.0)
The diagrams illustrate how Porth Harbor looks today as compared to 2000.
Overall, Porth Harbor has undergone significant redevelopment, with many original features being removed or replaced. Recreational, commercial and restroom facilities have been added, including cafes & shops, hotel, and showers & toilets, while the public beach is privatized and the location of marina and fishing boats is swapped.
In 2000, There was a castle that was disused has been replaced by a hotel and the public beach is now the property of this hotel, to which only the hotel guests have access. There was only one dock earlier and now an additional dock has been created for passenger ferries. The area next to the lifeboat has been occupied by newly built cafes & shops.
On the west side of the harbor, car park which can be accessed by the road leading to lifeboat and the hotel has been shifted to the main road with showers & toilets added in the north side of the car park. Furthermore, the area which was previously occupied by fishing boats has been acquired by marina for private boats and fishing boats area now sits on the previous location of marina.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two maps. The overview is clear and highlights the key transformations, such as the redevelopment of the harbor, the swapping of the marina and fishing boat locations, the privatization of the beach, and the addition of commercial and hospitality facilities like the hotel and cafes & shops. Details are generally accurate and grounded in the visual data, covering the docks, car parks, and the castle-turned-hotel effectively. The response meets the criteria for Band 7 by giving a clear overview and supporting the main points with adequate detail, although some minor structural groupings could be slightly more polished.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5
The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression from an introductory statement and summary overview to specific body paragraphs detailing the changes. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Overall,' 'In 2000,' 'now,' and 'Furthermore.' Paragraphing is used sufficiently to separate distinct geographical areas and types of changes. However, referencing and transitions between sentences occasionally feel slightly mechanical or repetitive in structure (e.g., 'There was a castle that was disused has been replaced...'), which prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Overall, the logical flow is easy to follow and meets Band 7 descriptors.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is generally adequate and appropriate for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms like 'redevelopment,' 'privatized,' 'marina,' 'passenger ferries,' and 'lifeboat.' There are attempts to use less common vocabulary ('privatized,' 'acquired,' 'relocated'), though some word choices and phrasing are awkward or unidiomatic, such as 'the public beach is now the property of this hotel' or 'fishing boats area now sits on.' Spelling and word-choice errors do not impede communication, placing the response solidly in the Band 6 range with elements of Band 7.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses ('which can be accessed by the road') and passive constructions ('has been replaced', 'have been added'). However, there are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings, most notably in the second body paragraph ('There was a castle that was disused has been replaced'), which contains a fused verb structure. Punctuation and article usage also show occasional lapses (e.g., 'car park which can be accessed...'). Because errors occur with some frequency in complex structures but rarely impede overall communication, a band score of 6.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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