Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-05
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 given map provides information about the changes that took place in aPorth Harbour between 2000 and uptilll now.
Overall, the map depicts that how the harbour have been changed within the period of twenty six years.
A number of replacements took place and some of the amendments are interduced.
Initailly, fishing boats have been replaced with Marina (private yachts), moreover number of showers and toilets have been increased in the present time at the southren side of the harbour.While,there were no cafes and shops in the past but now they are built along the road, next to the lifeboat premises.
In addition, a castle which was not in use is now converted into a hotel in the eastern side of the Harbour.While, there was a public beach in the east south direction of the harbour which is now
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The response addresses the task only partially, failing to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words by stopping short at 139 words. The student attempts to report the main features and changes, such as the conversion of the disused castle into a hotel and the swapping of the fishing boats and marina. However, the description is incomplete and trails off abruptly at the end without finishing the final comparison of the public beach. The overview is overly simplistic, and key details like the expanded parking facilities and new cafes are mentioned without full or accurate contextualisation. To reach a higher band, the student must write a fully developed response that meets the word count and covers all prominent visual changes clearly.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response shows some basic organisation, dividing the introduction, overview, and body details into separate paragraphs. However, there is no clear overall progression, and the flow of information is disjointed. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, such as starting consecutive sentences with 'While,' and disjointed connectors. Furthermore, paragraphing is disrupted by the incomplete ending where the text trails off mid-sentence. Referencing and logical sequencing need significant improvement. To progress, the writer should use a wider variety of appropriate transition markers and ensure that every paragraph contains fully developed, logically connected ideas rather than isolated statements.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task, containing noticeable spelling and word choice errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. Examples of lexical errors include 'uptilll', 'interduced', 'Initailly', and 'southren', which reflect weak spelling control. Additionally, phrasing such as 'depicts that how' demonstrates awkward collocation and lexical control. While the student attempts some topic-specific vocabulary related to the harbour, the frequent errors prevent the response from achieving a higher band. To improve, the writer needs to expand their range of functional academic vocabulary, practice accurate spelling, and pay closer attention to natural word combinations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writing exhibits a very limited range of sentence structures, relying mostly on simple or faulty complex constructions. Frequent grammatical errors are present, including tense and agreement issues such as 'how the harbour have been changed' and missing articles or prepositions in phrases like 'in the present time at the southren side'. Punctuation and word form errors also persist throughout the text, and the response ends with an incomplete grammatical fragment. These frequent errors can cause difficulty for the reader. To achieve a higher band, the student must demonstrate better control over complex sentence forms, ensure accurate subject-verb agreement, and eliminate basic grammatical slips.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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