Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)
The diagrams illustrate the comparison of Porth harbour area in 2000 and nowadays look.
Overall, never depicts big change, while some major features add like cafes and shops, wheras some places repalce like fishing boats with marina.
In 2000, porth harbour was simply manufactured, main road on west side, connect with car park, showers & toilets and marina were on north west side, only marina (private yachts) was replaced with fishing boats. Moreover, on south-west side , there were car park and fishing boats in 2000, where showers & toilets were added and fishing boats replaced with marina (private yachts).
In north side no changing seemed public beach on upward side, whereas dock and passenger fames on middle. In south-east side one feature replaced, castl
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response responds to the task only minimally and fails to meet the required 150-word minimum, falling short at 125 words. While the writer attempts to compare the harbour maps from 2000 and the present day by mentioning features like the marina and fishing boats, the overview is extremely vague and confused ('Overall, never depicts big change'). Many details are inaccurate, incomplete, or abruptly cut off at the end of the text ('castl'). To improve, the response must cover all key visual data comprehensively, develop an adequate overview of the main trends, and meet the minimum length requirement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
Information and ideas are not arranged coherently. The progression of ideas is difficult to follow due to fragmented sentences and poor paragraphing. While basic sequencing is attempted, cohesive devices are inadequate, inaccurate, or missing entirely. The text jumps haphazardly between different sections of the maps without clear logical links or referencing, causing confusion for the reader. To reach a higher band, the student needs to organise ideas into logical paragraphs with clear topic sentences and use appropriate cohesive devices to guide the reader smoothly through the comparisons.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic, repetitive, and heavily reliant on direct lifting from the prompt (e.g., 'car park', 'showers & toilets', 'fishing boats'). There are noticeable word choice errors and incorrect word forms, such as 'fames' instead of ferries and the incomplete word 'castl', which strain the reader's understanding. The lexical range is limited and minimally adequate. To improve, the student should expand their vocabulary to include precise synonyms, accurate collocations, and less common items relevant to describing geographical changes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The grammatical range is very limited, consisting mostly of fragmented or poorly constructed simple sentences. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense usage, missing articles, and sentence structure (e.g., 'main road on west side, connect with car park'). These frequent errors can distort meaning and cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher score, the writer must demonstrate control over a wider variety of grammatical structures, ensure complete sentences with proper subject-verb agreement, and significantly reduce basic grammatical errors.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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