Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-27
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 given plan or pictures depicts the visuals of the harbour in 2000 and in the present time or today. It shown a significant change during the years and was completely modified according to the people's need.
Overall, passenger ferries, showers and toilets, car park and the public park did not change through out the years.
On the other hand, the small public beach was converted into a private beach for the hotel which was located at the old Castle area. The dock count was increased when compared to the harbour in 2000. Manily, the location of the private yachts and the fishing boats interchanged their position currently.
Many cafes and shops were installed right next to the lifeboat or beside the lifeboats, which were not established in the previous years. The number of showers and toilets have seen a significant growth due to the increased visitors to the harbour. Good distance between docks will make it easier for the fisherman to park their sail boats.
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 response covers the main features of the two maps, noting key changes such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boat locations, the conversion of the disused castle into a hotel, and the addition of cafés, shops, and a private beach. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, stating which facilities remained unchanged and summarising the broad modifications. However, some details are slightly imprecise, such as referring to a public park when the map shows a public beach. Additionally, the final sentence strays into speculation ('Good distance between docks will make it easier for the fisherman to park their sail boats') rather than reporting visual data. Overall, all parts of the prompt are addressed, supporting a Band 6.0 rating.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is structured with an introduction, an overview paragraph, and a body section detailing the specific changes. Cohesive devices and transition markers such as 'Overall', 'On the other hand', and 'Manily' are employed to guide the reader through the comparison. However, paragraphing is somewhat disjointed, and the logical flow is occasionally disrupted by abrupt shifts between unrelated details (for example, jumping from beach changes to dock counts, then to boat locations and retail shops). Referencing is generally clear, but mechanical transitions place this firmly in the Band 6 category.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms like 'modified', 'converted', 'interchanged their position', and 'installed'. However, there are notable spelling errors ('Manily' for mainly, 'through out' for throughout) and minor lexical inaccuracies, such as 'dock count was increased' instead of 'the number of docks increased' or 'an additional dock was built'. While less common vocabulary is attempted, these flaws prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'The given plan or pictures depicts the visuals...' and '...the small public beach was converted into a private beach for the hotel which was located at the old Castle area.' There are several grammatical errors and awkward agreements, including 'The given plan or pictures depicts' (subject-verb agreement), 'It shown a significant change' (tense/verb form error), and 'visitor' instead of 'visitors'. Despite these errors, meaning is generally clear and communication is not seriously impeded, aligning with Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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