Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The plans shows a Porth Harbour in 2000 and compares it with how it looks today.
Porth Harbour back in 2000 was not very immense with fewer facilities. When you turn east from the main road you can see a car parking area and the same road which leads you to the lifeboat. In the beach you can see fishing boats, marina(private yachts), passenger ferries. There are two public beaches one to the north and another to the south and next to it is a castle(disused). There is also a dock to the north behind the public beach.
Porth Harbour today has more facilities. There are more shower and toilets. From the main road when you turn east you can find cafes and shops as well. The same road leads you to the lifeboat as well as hotel. There is a private beach which is specifically for hotel members. It also has two docks to the north.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the task only partially. While the student attempts to compare the harbour in 2000 with its current layout, the information is presented with notable inaccuracies and omissions, such as mislocating features or describing the general layout rather than selecting and reporting the main trends and changes clearly. The overview is largely absent, as the response jumps straight into specific details without summarizing the overarching transformations. Furthermore, some key changes, such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats or the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel, are either described unclearly or missed entirely, leading to under-developed ideas that prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
There is some basic organization evident in the division of paragraphs separating the past and present descriptions, but the response lacks a clear overall progression. Cohesive devices are minimal, repetitive, and at times mechanical, relying heavily on simple spatial transitions like 'When you turn east' and 'The same road'. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs is weak, resulting in a disjointed flow of information. Pronoun referencing is also occasionally unclear, leaving the reader to guess which specific areas are being discussed. To improve, the student needs to use a wider range of cohesive links and structure the comparison to show logical development from one period to the next.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to convey basic concepts about the maps. The student demonstrates some attempt to use task-relevant vocabulary such as 'marina', 'passenger ferries', and 'lifeboat', but there are noticeable errors in word choice and phrasing, such as writing 'car parking area' and 'more shower and toilets' instead of 'showers'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but the overall lexical range restricts the precision required for an academic comparison. To reach a higher level, the student should incorporate a broader variety of less common lexical items and precise collocations related to spatial changes and urban development.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The text displays a limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences alongside a few basic complex forms. Attempts at more complex sentences tend to be somewhat faulty or repetitive in structure. There are frequent errors in grammar, including subject-verb agreement issues such as 'The plans shows', missing articles ('in beach', 'to lifeboat'), and incorrect pluralization ('shower and toilets'). While these errors do not completely obscure the overall meaning, they occur frequently enough to cause occasional difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted control over grammatical accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.