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 maps illustrates the developments that have been taken place in Porth Harbour between 2000 an the present day.

Overall, the harbour area has become significantly commercialized and tourist oriented, featuring increased docking area, new facilities and a shift from public to private spaces.

To the bottom right side, the disused castle from 2000 has been dimolished and a new facility, a hotel has been made. Also the nearby public beach near the castle has been made to a private beach and restricted for hotel use. Along the southern pathway, new cafes and shops have been established near the life boat area.

Furthermore, significant marine alterations are also visible in the harbour waters. The main dock has gain an additional area for more boats, resulting more passenger capacity. The place of the fishing boat and the private yachts area has been replaced with each other. Moreover, new shower and toilets facilities have been introduced next to the southern car parking, as the one in the nothern side.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by identifying the main features and making clear comparisons between the 2000 map and the present-day plan. You provide a clear overview at the beginning, noting the shift toward commercialisation and tourism. Key alterations are covered, such as the hotel replacing the disused castle, the beachfront becoming private, the addition of cafes and shops, and the swapping of the fishing boat and yacht marina areas. However, some areas remain slightly under-developed or less precise, such as the exact nature of the dock expansion or how the passenger capacity increased. To reach the next level, every identified feature would need to be fully supported and elaborated with greater precision.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from an introductory overview to specific spatial details in the southern and northern parts of the harbour. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview, the southern developments, and the marine alterations. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas, such as "To the bottom right side", "Also", and "Furthermore". However, referencing and cohesion occasionally feel a bit mechanical, and some transitions could flow more smoothly. To improve further, you should ensure that cohesive ties connect sentences more naturally without relying on rigid formulas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying changes such as "commercialized", "tourist oriented", "relocated", and "marine alterations". However, there are notable word choice, word form, and spelling errors that prevent a higher score, such as writing "dimolished" instead of "demolished", stating that a beach has been "made to" a private beach rather than "converted into", and writing "gain" instead of "gained" or "gaining". There is also an awkward phrasing in "resulting more passenger capacity". To achieve a higher band, you need to use a wider range of less common lexical items with greater precision and fewer mechanical slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, with several sentences structured correctly to describe map changes. Control over basic structures is generally evident, but there are some noticeable grammatical errors and awkward patterns, such as "The maps illustrates" (subject-verb agreement), "developments that have been taken place" (incorrect passive voice), and "an the present day" (preposition error). Additionally, article usage and prepositions are sometimes faulty, as seen in "on the nothern side". These errors are typical of the current band, where grammar mistakes occur but rarely impede overall communication. To move up, you need to produce a higher proportion of error-free complex sentences.

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

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