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 plans show a how harbour has changed from 2000 to the present date.

Overall, the harbour has undergone considerable development. While public beach, showers and toilets, car park, passenger ferries, lifeboat have remained largely unchanged, the castle disused, the marine private yachts and fishing boats have been converted into several new facilities.

In 2000, the castle disused was located in the south-eastern part of the port. Moreover, public beach was situated in the northern part and the duck and passenger ferries were adjacent to the public beach. Near the main road, the car park and showers and toilets were located. Marina private yachts and fishing boats were connected to the public beach and located in the north-western site of the harbour.

In the current layout, the castle disused has been converted into the hotel and it connected to the road. There are 2 dock areas have been added to north part of the harbour. Marina private yachts have been converted into the fishing boats, while fishing boats have been replaced by the marina private yachts. Showers and toilets, car park have been remained unchanged between 2000 and today.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The candidate has addressed the main features of the maps, presenting a general overview of the changes and highlighting key transformations such as the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel and the swapping of the marina and fishing boat areas. However, there are some inaccuracies and minor omissions in reporting spatial details; for instance, referring to the 'duck' instead of the dock, and slightly mislocating certain features. Despite these minor flaws, the key trends over the twenty-year period are adequately covered, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response is organized into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introductory sentence, followed by an overall summary, and then breaking down the features of 2000 and the present layout respectively. Cohesive devices such as 'In 2000' and 'In the current layout' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the comparison. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and the progression could be smoother. Paragraphing is adequate, but transitions between sentences can feel slightly mechanical, aligning well with the Band 6 descriptor.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range for the task, attempting less common phrases such as 'undergone considerable development' and 'converted into several new facilities'. However, there are notable word-choice errors and typos, such as writing 'duck' instead of 'dock', and awkward phrasing like 'the castle disused' and 'it connected to the road'. Spelling and lexical control are generally sufficient to convey meaning without impeding communication, placing the response firmly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating passive structures such as 'has been converted into' and 'have been replaced by'. There are some grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'showers and toilets, car park have been remained unchanged' (tense and agreement error), but these errors rarely impede overall communication. A greater variety of error-free complex structures would be required to achieve a higher band, but the control demonstrated warrants a Band 6.0.

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