Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-03
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)
These two images illustrate the changes that took place in Porth Harbour in 2000 and how it looks now.
Overall, significant changes have taken place; the most noticeable is that the disused castle has been converted into a beautiful hotel, whereas the public beach, which is at the castle's downside has been labelled as a private beach for the hotel only. Moreover, the only dock has been replaced with two docks,
Regarding the other areas, the car parking was connected through the main road; now it has a way via the hotel road. Facilities of showers and toilets have been added as well. Another area of cafes and shops has been set up near the lifeboat area.
The marina's private yachts area has been replaced with a fishing boats area, and vice versa. More convenience has been provided to people after adding one more dock. Along with this, a road has been constructed, which leads to the hotel.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.0 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response addresses all parts of the task and provides an overview of the main changes between 2000 and the present day, noting key transformations such as the conversion of the castle into a hotel and the swapping of the marina and fishing boats. However, some areas are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, the statement that "the only dock has been replaced with two docks" misinterprets the visual data, as the original dock remains at the northern entrance with an added jetty and two berthed boats rather than a brand-new second dock. While the main features are reported and useful comparisons are made, tighter accuracy in reading the map details is necessary to push this criterion further.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body paragraphs, and an overview section. Information is generally organised logically, moving from major structural changes to secondary details. Cohesive devices such as "Overall", "Regarding the other areas", and "Moreover" are deployed to guide the reader through the comparisons. Nevertheless, cohesion feels slightly mechanical in places, and referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the ambiguous pronoun use in "the public beach, which is at the castle's downside has been labelled". Improving the precision of connective phrases and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would elevate the organizational quality.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic changes with terms like "converted", "relocated", and "constructed". The writer attempts less common vocabulary with varying degrees of success; some phrasing sounds slightly unnatural or inaccurate, such as "at the castle's downside" instead of "to the south of the castle" or "below the castle". Word choices generally do not impede communication, and spelling is accurate throughout. To achieve a higher score, the writer should incorporate more precise, collocationally natural academic vocabulary to describe spatial changes and geographical features without awkward phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0
The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and passive constructions such as "has been converted" and "has been constructed". There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, though they rarely impede communication. Examples include minor prepositional and structural slips like "the car parking was connected through the main road; now it has a way via the hotel road" and punctuation issues surrounding restrictive and non-restrictive clauses. Good control is shown over basic verb tenses, but a wider variety of error-free complex structures and faultless punctuation would be required to reach the next band level.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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