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 illustrates how a harbour was in 2000 and how it looks today.
Overall, the harbour has undergone significant modernization and reorganisation, transitioning from a traditional harbour to modern harbour. They exchange the places of fishing boats and marina (private yachts) with each other.
They added one more showers & toilets in between two car park area. They enlarge the dock area. They redeveloped the hotel from the disused castle and connect the road to the hotel. They change the entry of the car park in south and they connect it to the main road. They built the cafe & shops just aside of lifeboat.
In the place of fishing boats they made the marine (private yachts) and they change marine (private yachts) to fishing boats. Car park, lifeboat and the private beach areas remain the unchanged. They develop the necessary areas and built the new facilities and some area remain unchanged.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The response successfully covers all parts of the task by identifying key developments at Porth Harbour between 2000 and today, such as the swapped locations of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of new facilities, and the replacement of the castle with a hotel. A clear overview is provided near the beginning, highlighting the general modernization and reorganisation. However, some ideas are under-developed or expressed repetitively towards the end of the text, and certain descriptions lack sufficient extension, which prevents the task response from reaching a higher band. Overall, the visual data is adequately reported with relevant comparisons made where necessary.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5
The response attempts an overall progression by starting with an introduction and overview, followed by body sentences detailing specific changes. However, the organization is hindered by poor paragraphing, as sentences are fragmented into very short, isolated paragraphs instead of being grouped logically. Furthermore, cohesive devices are weak and mechanical, relying heavily on repetitive referencing like 'They added' and 'In the place of fishing boats'. Transitions between ideas lack smoothness, making the overall arrangement somewhat disjointed and failing to establish clear, logical cohesion throughout.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic information about the maps using terms such as 'modernization', 'reorganisation', 'facilities', and 'marina'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, but there are noticeable inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'exchange the places' instead of 'swapped positions', and 'redeveloped the hotel from the disused castle' instead of 'converted the disused castle into a hotel'. Additionally, some terms are awkwardly repeated. While these lexical slips do not completely impede communication, they reflect a limited range and precision appropriate for this band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response exhibits a limited range of structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic subject-verb patterns like 'They added' and 'They built'. While there are a few attempts at complex forms, these are often simple coordinate clauses. There are frequent errors in grammar, including missing plural markers ('two car park area', 'cafe & shops'), incorrect verb tenses or forms ('They exchange', 'remain the unchanged'), and missing articles. Although the meaning can generally be parsed, these recurring grammatical errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted structural variety.
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