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 separate area for fishing boats. In the north-east side there was a dock and a ferry service for passengers also available. There was a public beach also to top north side. There was a 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 several developments. The fishing area has been moved to the north-east side and the showers and toilets have been 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 have also been develop to the south side along the road.
Another greatest change is that there was a castle but now it has been changed to the Hotel. There was a public beach which has been changed into the public beach. Another change is the dock area has been increased.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The candidate successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making clear comparisons between the 2000 plan and the present-day layout of Porth Harbour. Key transformations—such as the relocation of the marina and fishing boat areas, the conversion of the disused castle into a hotel, and the addition of cafes and shops—are accurately identified and described. An overview is present at the beginning of the text, summarizing that several changes have taken place. However, the development of ideas could be slightly more integrated, and there is a minor contradiction in the description of the beach (stating it was changed into the public beach when it actually became a private beach for the hotel). Nevertheless, all primary spatial changes are covered well, aligning closely with Band 6.5 to 7.0 descriptors.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is organized into logical paragraphs, with an introduction followed by body paragraphs detailing the past layout and subsequent changes. Cohesive devices are used to guide the reader, such as time markers like 'In 2000' and 'Today'. However, some cohesive links and transitional phrases are mechanical or repetitive (e.g., repeatedly starting sentences with 'There was a...'). Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as the redundant statement in the introduction ('Overall, this shows the diagram of porth harbour in 2000 and the present map of Porth Harbour'). Paragraphing is sufficient, but logical progression between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother. These issues place the response firmly in Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'harbour', 'marina', 'fishing boats', 'passenger ferries', and 'lifeboat'. There are some attempts to use less common vocabulary ('develop', 'relocates', 'undergoes'), but these are occasionally marred by word-form and spelling errors (e.g., 'yacthts', 'introduce' instead of introduced, 'develop' instead of developed). Furthermore, there is noticeable repetition of basic verbs like 'was' and 'changed'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main message, the lexical inaccuracies and limited flexibility prevent the score from reaching Band 6.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though simple structures heavily predominate, particularly the repetitive 'There was a...' construction. Grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors in tense usage, voice, and word forms, such as 'the porth Harbour undergoes several developments' (past context requiring past tense), 'the showers and toilets have been introduce' (passive voice error), and 'There was a public beach which has been changed into the public beach' (redundant and contradictory phrasing). While these errors do not completely impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the score from exceeding Band 5.5.
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