Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-06

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 5.5)

The map display the structural changes of a harbour that took place in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall the area went under significant modernization and expansion, transforming from a largely Porth harbour are into modern.

In the northen section of the area, the original harbour private yachts and dock loacted to northwestern was renovated. Private yachts is refurbished into fishing boats. In 2000 the Porth harbour had one dock while modernised harbour have two docks.

Meanwhile, In the southern region, new construction saw the addition of cafres and shops. Futhermore, the castle to the east which was disused was converted into hotel. The transport link is extended to connet the hotel. Eastern public beach is now transformed into private beach to attract customers of hotel.

Marina (private yachts) is exchanged with fishing boats in nothern and southern region of the porth harbour. In the upgraded porth harbour showers and toilets is added above the southwestern region.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response attempts to address the prompt by describing the changes between the two maps of Porth Harbour. However, the coverage of the visual data is incomplete and contains several inaccuracies, such as misidentifying the swapping of features and misinterpreting the addition of a hotel and a private beach. While an overall trend of modernization and expansion is mentioned, the ideas are often limited and under-developed. Key spatial relationships are frequently confused, which prevents the report from fully satisfying the demands of a clear, accurate overview and well-selected supporting features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organization in the response, dividing the text into an introduction, body details, and concluding sentences, but there is no clear overall progression of ideas. Cohesive devices are used mechanically and sometimes inaccurately, such as abrupt transitions ('Meanwhile, In the southern region') and repetitive referencing ('Porth harbour'). Paragraphing is disjointed, with single-sentence paragraphs breaking up the flow. Reference words and substitution are sometimes unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the spatial development from one area of the harbour to the next smoothly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task. There are frequent errors in word choice, collocation, and word form, such as 'display' instead of 'displays', 'northen' instead of 'northern', 'loacted' instead of 'located', and 'cafres' instead of 'cafés'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary related to the maps, such as 'modernization', 'refurbished', and 'converted', but these attempts are undermined by noticeable spelling and morphological errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences alongside poorly formed complex attempts. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense consistency ('take place in 2000 and how it looks today'), subject-verb agreement ('the map display', 'showers and toilets is added'), and article usage ('converted into hotel', 'to attract customers of hotel'). These errors occur regularly and cause frequent strain for the reader, reflecting an unstable control over basic grammatical patterns.

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