Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The floor plans below illustrate the changes in a harbour in 2000 compared to how it looks today.

Overall, the harbour has predominantly stayed the same over the years in its size, though it has undergone some significant changes in the services that it offers. The dock has been increased in its capacity with the inculcation of cafes and shops. The public beach and castle have also been transformed into private beach and a hotel repectively, which were previously unused.

The dock has been increased in its capacity to account for more passenger ferries to manage the rush hours. The places for fishing boats and marinas have been swapped while the shower and toilets and the car park remain unchanged in the north western part of the map, accessible through the main road. There is also a new addition of showers and toilets adjacent to the marina area.

Furthermore, there is an addition of cafes and shops near the life boat area which can be accessed through the road branching from the main road. For the guest who like to stay there is the facility of hotel, which is built on the grounds of castle, the latter previously being unused. Moreover, the hotel offers a private beach reserved only for the hotel guests.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features and making relevant comparisons between the two maps, earning credit for covering the spatial changes such as the swapping of the marina and fishing boats, and the addition of cafés, shops, and the hotel. However, some parts of the response are under-developed or contain inaccuracies regarding the visual data. For instance, the student refers to 'floor plans' instead of maps or plans, and incorrectly mentions that the castle was 'previously unused' when the prompt labels it as 'disused'. Furthermore, the explanation regarding passenger ferries managing 'rush hours' introduces outside speculation not present in the visual data. To reach a higher band, the writer should ensure all reported details strictly reflect the visual prompts without adding speculative interpretations, while providing a more balanced selection of key features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt at an overview paragraph, followed by body paragraphs detailing specific spatial transformations. Paragraphing is used to separate different areas of the harbour, such as the northern dock area and the southern features. However, cohesion can sometimes feel mechanical or slightly repetitive in its linking devices, such as the frequent use of 'Furthermore' and 'Moreover'. Additionally, referencing is occasionally imprecise, as seen when transitioning between ideas without entirely clear logical progression. To improve cohesiveness towards a higher band, the writer should employ a wider and more natural variety of transitional phrases and ensure seamless transitions between sentences and paragraphs without relying on formulaic connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to communicate basic transformations such as 'transformed', 'relocated', and 'swapped'. The writer attempts less common vocabulary items, such as 'inculcation' (though misused here in place of addition or inclusion) and 'disused'. There are some noticeable lexical inaccuracies and awkward word choices, such as 'repectively' (spelling error) and 'guest who like to stay', which show occasional strain in word choice and spelling that do not entirely impede communication but prevent the score from rising further. To achieve a higher band, the student needs to demonstrate greater precision in word choice and collocation, ensuring that less common vocabulary items are used accurately and appropriately in context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and passive constructions such as 'has been increased' and 'which is built on the grounds of castle'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation present throughout the text, including article omissions and preposition issues, such as 'on the grounds of castle' instead of 'on the grounds of the castle'. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede overall communication, fulfilling the requirements of this band level. To move up to the next band, the student must produce a higher frequency of error-free complex sentences and exercise tighter control over articles, singular and plural forms, and grammatical structures.

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

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