Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
The maps illistrate the changes that have taken place in a harbour in 2000 and then it looks how today.
Overall, the porth harbour have main road it will not change. The castle ariya is near to the lifeboat in 2000 it was redevlop and know there is a hotal. In 2000 the dock was one and it was replaced in today. The showers and toilets are more devlope in todays.
In 2000 the Harbour was 1 showers and toilets and know there is a 2 showers and toilets near to the both car park. The Marina was in north side and fishing boats was in south side in 2000 but in todays it has change the fishing boats is in north side and Marina is in south side. In the south side road was going near to the lifeboat in 2000 but know there is a cafe's and shops near to the lifeboat.
The public beach is in east side there is a 1 dock in 2000 but it converted in 2 parts in today. The castle was in 2000 it replaced today in to the hotal.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The candidate attempts to cover the main features of the maps, noting the changes to the marina, fishing boats, castle, and beach facilities. However, the response contains several inaccuracies and a lack of precise detail regarding spatial relationships. For instance, the statement 'the dock was one and it was replaced in today' is confusing, and the description of the harbour's layout struggles to capture the overall transformation clearly. The overview is weak, consisting of a fragmented sentence ('Overall, the porth harbour have main road it will not change...'). While some key transformations are identified, such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, the overall development of ideas is limited and hampered by imprecise reporting. This corresponds to Band 5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is divided into four paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing specific spatial changes. However, logical progression is frequently disrupted by poor sentence construction and weak cohesive devices. Transition phrases are either absent or misused, such as 'and know there is a hotal', making it difficult to follow the chronological comparison between 2000 and the present day. Referencing is often unclear (e.g., 'it converted in 2 parts'). Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion is weak and repetitive, preventing the text from flowing smoothly. This reflects Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0 based on paragraph structure attempts.
Lexical Resource: Band 4.0
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, with frequent misspellings and word-form errors (e.g., 'illistrate' for illustrate, 'ariya' for area, 'redevlop' for redeveloped, 'hotal' for hotel, 'todays' for today). There is little evidence of less common lexical items, and the student relies heavily on simple words from the prompt. Word choices are frequently inaccurate, such as 'the harbour was 1 showers and toilets'. These lexical inadequacies and spelling mistakes occasionally cause strain for the reader, fitting the Band 4 descriptor.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0
Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. There is a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex or comparative sentences frequently result in serious structural errors and non-standard syntax (e.g., 'The maps illistrate the changes that have taken place in a harbour in 2000 and then it looks how today.'). Tense usage is inconsistent, switching awkwardly between past and present descriptions without clear markers. Errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage are pervasive (e.g., 'the porth harbour have', 'a 2 showers and toilets'). These frequent errors severely impede readability, placing the response firmly at Band 4.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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