Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-02

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 given maps illustrate the information about the porth harbour changes that took place in 2000 and also have been taken place in the present time.

Overall, it can be seen that many changes take place in the preset time the principal change increase in porth harbour strenght many facilities like more shower and toilets and cafe had been added.

To start with, in 2000 , on the north side had a publich beach with the dock area. Just after that had a pasesenger ferries. On the west side had a main road atteched with the life boat and castle area in the centre of the map around with the public beach. on the west side, had sevral spaces lsuch as two for car park , shower and toilets area. In the center had a fishing boat and marine area atteched with the public beach.

Moving on, radical changes can be seen in the present map after two and half deceds. Firstly, the marina area converted into fishing boat area also th fishing boat area converted into the marina area. Wheras on wet side added one more shower and toilet area also in south area built new cafes and shops. Further, castle removed and repalced into a hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task partially and attempts to report the main features of the Porth Harbour maps comparing 2000 to the present. While an overview is attempted in the second paragraph, it is extremely unclear and contains awkward phrasing ("the principal change increase in porth harbour strenght many facilities"). Key developments such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boat locations, the addition of cafes and shops, and the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel are mentioned, but some details are under-developed or imprecise. To reach a higher band, the response needs a clearer, more coherent overview of the main global changes without getting bogged down in minor, confusingly described details, ensuring all key spatial shifts are accurately communicated.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response shows some overall organization by attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs dedicated to the two time periods. However, the progression is frequently disrupted by awkward referencing and mechanical cohesive devices like "To start with" and "Moving on". Paragraphing is attempted, but sentences within paragraphs often lack logical connection and smooth flow. For instance, the grouping of spatial descriptions in the third paragraph is jumbled ("On the west side had a main road atteched with the life boat and castle area"). To improve, the writer should use clearer referencing words and ensure that the sequence of information follows a logical geographic or thematic progression rather than jumping randomly across the map.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. The response contains frequent lexical errors, incorrect word forms, and spelling mistakes, such as "porth" instead of Porth, "publich", "pasesenger", "atteched", "deceds", and "Wheras on wet side". Attempts to use less common vocabulary result in unnatural collocations or inaccurate word choices, for example, "harbour strenght" or "marine area". Communication is occasionally impeded by these vocabulary slips. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to expand their range of vocabulary related to spatial changes and urban development, while improving spelling accuracy and ensuring correct word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammatical range is very limited, relying heavily on simple sentence structures and recurring structural errors, particularly missing subjects and verbs (e.g., "on the north side had a publich beach" and "on the west side, had sevral spaces"). There are frequent errors in verb forms, tenses, and prepositions throughout the text, such as "changes take place in the preset time" and "the marina area converted into fishing boat area". Punctuation is also erratic with spaces before commas and periods. These frequent errors cause difficulty for the reader. To progress, the writer must work on constructing complete sentences with correct subjects and verbs, mastering passive voice constructions for describing map changes, and eliminating basic grammatical slips.

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

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