Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-30
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 plan below demonstrates a harbour in 2000 and the way it looks today. Overall, this shows the diagram of porth harbour in 2000 and the present map of Porth Harbour. There are several changes and replacements.
In 2000, the western side contained two car parks ,showers and toilets , a marina for private yacthts, and a seperate area for fishing boats. In the north east side there was dock and a ferries service for passenger also availible. There was a public beach also to top north side. There was castle to south-east side.There was public beach also. There was a road and a lifeboat also in the south side.
Today, the porth harbour undergoes through several developments. The fishing area has been moved to the north-east side and the showers and toilets are introduce to the south-west side. The area that was given to the fishing boats but now given to the marina for private yachts. The cafes and shops are also have been develop to the south side along the road.
The another greatest change is that there was a castle but now it has been change to the Hotel. There was a public beach which has been change into the public beach. Another change is dock area has been increased.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to address the task by describing the main changes between the 2000 plan and the present-day layout of Porth Harbour. An overview is attempted in the introduction, and key developments such as the relocation of the fishing boats and marina, the addition of cafes and shops, and the replacement of the castle with a hotel are noted. However, the summary lacks a clear, cohesive overall trend summary, and some descriptions are inaccurate or confusing, such as the claim that 'a public beach which has been change into the public beach'. Furthermore, important details like the specific locations are sometimes vaguely expressed. This places the response in the band 5.5 to 6.0 range, where relevant information is presented, but some parts are under-developed or unclear.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text is divided into paragraphs, attempting an introduction, body paragraphs for past and present features, and a concluding summary of changes. However, the progression between ideas is sometimes disjointed and mechanical. For instance, the opening paragraph repeats the prompt phrasing redundantly ('The plan below demonstrates... Overall, this shows the diagram of...'). Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, relying heavily on simple time markers like 'In 2000' and 'Today'. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, and paragraph boundaries do not strictly separate themes logically. These issues align with a band 6.0, reflecting a coherent overall arrangement but with faulty or mechanical cohesion.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'marina', 'fishing boats', 'lifeboat', 'car parks', and 'ferries service'. However, there are frequent spelling errors (e.g., 'yacthts', 'seperate', 'availible', 'introduce' instead of introduced, 'develop' instead of developed) and awkward word choices ('the porth harbour undergoes through several developments', 'The another greatest change'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a band 5.5 because the number of lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips is noticeable throughout the short response.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and passive constructions ('The fishing area has been moved', 'the showers and toilets are introduce'). However, control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent structural errors, incorrect verb tenses, and missing auxiliary verbs (e.g., 'The cafes and shops are also have been develop', 'it has been change to the Hotel', missing articles and erratic punctuation spacing like commas before spaces). The frequent errors in basic and complex structures cause occasional difficulty and pull the grammar score down to a 5.0.
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