Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-01

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 6.5)

The plans illustrate the changes that have taken place in a harbour between 2000 and the present day.

Overall, the harbour has undergone considerable redevelopment, with several new facilities being introduced for visitors and tourists.

In 2000, the harbour contained a small café and a shop on the eastern side, close to the entrance. A lifeboat was located in the south-eastern section. There was also a car park on the western side, with a hotel situated further inland. The central part of the harbour was largely open.

Today, the harbour has a much greater range of facilities. The former café and shop have been replaced by a restaurant and a fish market, while a new café has been added nearby. The lifeboat station has also been relocated to the western side of the harbour. In addition, the car park has been expanded, and a new hotel has been constructed on the eastern side. Overall, the area has become considerably more developed and better equipped for tourism and leisure activities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response sits below the standard for fully addressing the prompt because it contains significant inaccuracies and misinterpretations of the visual data. While the student attempts to summarise the plans, the text includes details that are entirely absent from or contradict the source material, such as mentioning a 'small café and a shop on the eastern side' in 2000, and a 'fish market' and 'restaurant' today. Furthermore, key features shown on the maps—such as the relocation of the marina and fishing boats, the public and private beaches, and the conversion of the disused castle into a hotel—are either missed, mislocated, or confused. The overview is overly generalised and lacks accurate grounding in the actual visual evidence provided. To improve, the student must carefully study the visual prompts and report only the features actually present, avoiding unfounded assumptions or fabricated details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a clear, logical organisation with a recognizable overall progression. The writing is divided into appropriate paragraphs, beginning with a brief introduction, followed by body paragraphs describing the layout in 2000 and the changes today, and concluding with a summary statement. Cohesive devices are used adequately and generally well managed, with phrases like 'Overall,' 'In 2000,' and 'Today' helping to guide the reader through the temporal comparison. Reference words such as 'The former café' and 'the area' are handled reasonably well to maintain continuity. To push further into higher bands, the student could employ a more sophisticated and varied range of cohesive links and ensure that paragraph transitions are even more seamlessly integrated.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, demonstrating sufficient range to discuss changes and spatial features with some flexibility. The student successfully attempts less common lexical items and phrases such as 'considerable redevelopment,' 'facilities,' 'relocated,' and 'constructed.' While word choice is mostly clear, there are notable inaccuracies regarding specific terms due to the misinterpretation of the diagram items (e.g., describing a fish market and restaurant which are not depicted). Spelling and word formation are generally accurate and do not impede communication. To achieve a higher score, the student should focus on precise vocabulary selection that accurately reflects the exact visual data rather than generalising or inventing non-existent features.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.5

The response exhibits a good mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with frequent error-free sentences demonstrating a strong control of grammar and punctuation. The student handles past and present tenses appropriately to contrast the two time periods, as seen in 'The plans illustrate' and 'the harbour has undergone considerable redevelopment.' Structures like passive constructions ('have been replaced,' 'has been constructed') are used effectively. Punctuation is well controlled throughout. To maintain this strong grammatical foundation while pushing towards top-tier bands, the student could experiment with a wider variety of advanced dependent clauses and even more complex syntactic structures while ensuring absolute accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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