Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-28
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 charts below illustrates a port and how it looks in 2000 and now.
Overall, the biggest change now is the hotel at the south side and cafes & shops. However, there are many things replaced, removed and developed.
In 2000, there are two passenger ferries boats, one dock and a public beach at the right side of dock, at north side of chart. It also has a cark park, showers & toilets and marina ( private yachts ) in the west and at the left side of dock. Beneath marina ( private yachts ), there are fishing boats and left to it a car park place. There is a road under fishing boats it ends on the life boat section in the middle of port. There is also a castle in the south-east corner and a public beach on its left side.
Nowadays, there are two docks and three ships. The marina ( private yachts ) and fishing boats exchange their location. The new development is the establishment of cafes & shops at the left side of lifeboat. Furthermore, the castle is replaced with a hotel and the public beach there became private beach for hotel.
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 student attempts to address the task by highlighting the main changes between the year 2000 and the present day at Porth Harbour. An overview is provided, noting the addition of the hotel, cafés, and shops, alongside various replacements and developments. Key features such as the exchange of locations between the marina and fishing boats, the new hotel replacing the disused castle, and the conversion of the public beach into a private hotel beach are successfully reported. However, some details are slightly inaccurate or confusingly expressed, such as stating 'there are two docks and three ships' instead of focusing on the harbour structures and berths. Despite minor descriptive limitations, the response covers the core elements required for Task 1, satisfying the criteria for Band 6.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged into logical paragraphs, starting with an introduction and overview, moving to the 2000 map details, and concluding with current changes. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'In 2000', 'Nowadays', and 'Furthermore', but referencing is occasionally mechanical or clumsy (e.g., 'left to it a car park place' and 'the public beach there became private beach'). Paragraphing is functional, grouping past and present features separately. Progression is generally clear, though the lack of sophisticated signposting and some awkward transitions keep the cohesion at a Band 6 level.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to communicate basic spatial and comparative ideas, using terms such as 'development', 'establishment', 'exchange their location', and 'replaced'. However, there are noticeable word-choice inaccuracies and unnatural phrasing, such as 'passenger ferries boats', 'car park place', and 'life boat section'. Spelling and word formation are generally clear, but attempts at less common vocabulary lack precision and stylistic appropriateness, fitting the Band 6 descriptor well.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms. While the writer attempts relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'a road under fishing boats it ends on the life boat section'), there are frequent grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('In 2000, there are two passenger ferries boats') and missing articles ('at the right side of dock, at north side'). Punctuation and sentence boundaries occasionally cause confusion, as seen in run-on structures. These errors do not completely impede communication, pointing to a solid Band 5.5 or 6.0, best represented by Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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