Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The illustration compares the Porth Harbour throughout the period from 2000 and nowadays.
Overall, it is evident that no critical changes have taken place between the past and now, although, generally, some features were replaced by other, another ones were just changed places, and new features were added such as the new Cafe's and shops. furthermore, another path from the main road was added.
Turning out to the details, in 2000, there were only one dock to the north next to the Marina (private yachts), to the eastern-south we can see a disused Castle by the public beach, while the fishing boats were located to the weastern south of the map.
Today, new path from the main road was connected to the southern car park, the unused castle was reennovated to a hotel and the adjasent puplic beach was turned into a private beach for the hotel use. Additionally, another Dock was added, and
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The response addresses the task only partially and stops abruptly before completion, leaving the description of the visual data unfinished. While you attempted to cover the main transformations between 2000 and today, such as the additions of cafes and shops and the conversion of the castle into a hotel, some details are limited and under-developed. For example, the swapping of the marina and fishing boats lacks clarity in its spatial reporting. To move up to a higher band, you must ensure that all parts of the visual data are fully described and that the report is brought to a complete, coherent conclusion without trailing off.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
There is some basic organisation in the response, but it lacks a clear overall progression. While paragraphing is attempted, the transitions between ideas feel mechanical and disjointed, as seen in phrases like 'Turning out to the details'. Cohesive devices are sometimes inaccurate or awkwardly applied, and the abrupt ending prevents a smooth closure to the overview. To improve Coherence and Cohesion, you should focus on logically sequencing your ideas using a wider range of appropriate cohesive links, ensuring each sentence builds clearly on the previous one to guide the reader through the comparison.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited but minimally adequate to describe basic map features. You attempted some less common items such as 'renovated' (spelled 'reennovated') and 'disused', but noticeable errors in word form, spelling, and collocation cause some difficulty for the reader, such as 'eastern-south', 'weastern south', and 'adjasent puplic beach'. Additionally, repetitive phrasing like 'new features were added' restricts the range. To enhance your lexical score, you need to broaden your vocabulary related to geographical changes and spatial descriptions while ensuring higher accuracy in spelling and word partnerships.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
Your writing demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, and attempts at complex sentences often contain faulty phrasing. There are frequent grammatical errors regarding prepositions, plurals, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'there were only one dock', 'Cafe's', 'another path... was connected', and 'today, new path'. These errors cause some difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, you should incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures while maintaining strict control over basic rules, such as article usage, pluralisation, and verb tense consistency when describing past and present states.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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