Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-29

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)

This two graphs shows a harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall, the harbour has been great develop and change from a main industrialss area into a more modern place with several facilities for visitors. Some original features have been removed, while new buildings and areas have been add.

In 2000, there was a large harbou in the centree, with a small beach on the left side. There was also a warehouse near the beach and a fish market on the opposite side and A road ran along the harbour, and there were some storage areas and industrial buildings.

mow , the harbour has changed significantly. The old warehouse and fish market have been replaced by new facilities. The small beach has also been developed, and there are now more places for people to relax and enjoy the area. In addition, new buildings, shops and other visitor facilities have been constructed around the harbour.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The student attempts to summarise the maps, providing a basic overview noting the development from an industrial area into a visitor-friendly place. However, the response contains significant factual inaccuracies that misrepresent the visual data. For instance, the student refers to a 'warehouse near the beach and a fish market', which do not appear on the provided plans of Porth Harbour. Furthermore, the specific spatial changes—such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of a hotel and private beach replacing the disused castle, and the inclusion of cafés and shops—are not accurately detailed. Instead, the body paragraphs rely on generic descriptions rather than precise reporting of the main features shown in the diagrams. This places the response in the lower bands for Task Achievement due to inaccurate data reporting.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text is divided into four short paragraphs, representing an attempt at a logical structure with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, progression is weak because the content contains inaccurate descriptions of the maps, making it difficult to follow the development of ideas. Cohesive devices are minimal and basic, such as 'In 2000' and 'mow' (now). Paragraphing is visually present, but the abrupt separation and lack of clear referencing between sentences detract from overall coherence. The flawed referencing of non-existent features also disrupts the logical flow required for a clear task summary.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is very limited and basic, with frequent spelling mistakes that detract from the writing. Examples of lexical errors include 'industrialss', 'add' (instead of added), 'harbou', 'centree', and 'mow' (instead of now). The student attempts some topic-related vocabulary like 'harbour', 'beach', and 'facilities', but the range is inadequate for a precise summary of map changes. Furthermore, the use of invented vocabulary items ('warehouse', 'fish market') demonstrates a lack of precise lexical control over the provided source material.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammatical range is extremely limited, relying mostly on simple structures with occasional attempts at past and present forms ('there was a large harbou', 'the harbour has changed significantly'). There are multiple grammatical and mechanical errors throughout the text, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('This two graphs shows') and incorrect past tense formations. Punctuation and capitalization are also inconsistent, as seen in the lowercase start of the final paragraph and stray spacing before punctuation marks. These errors frequently disrupt readability.

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