Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The map depicts a harbour in the year 2000 and how it looks at present times. Overall there are visible improvements, as well as noticeable changes of the plan throughout the years.

The most noticeable change is the location of fishing boats, and the Marina. The areas designated for the private yachts, and fishing boats in the year 2000, have been swapped with each other in recent times. Lately, the former small public beach on the south eastern part of the harbour have been changed to a private beach . Another small change is that the southern car park's entry have been shifted towards the main road.

As for the major improvement, the disused castle on the south eastern part of the harbour have been renovated as a hotel. The number of docks, as well as showers & toilets have been increased by one in recent times. Over the last few years, cafes and shops have been built next to the lifeboat area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear summary of the main changes between the two maps of Porth Harbour in 2000 and today. You correctly identified key developments, such as the swapping of the fishing boats and marina locations, the transformation of the disused castle into a hotel, and the addition of cafés and shops. However, some parts are slightly under-developed, and certain details are treated with brief generalisations rather than fully extended descriptions. To move to a higher band, you could provide a more detailed comparison of the layout changes across the entire harbour area, ensuring all spatial relationships and minor adjustments are fully integrated into a cohesive overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The report presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division between general changes, major improvements, and relocations. Progression is logical, moving from an introductory overview into body paragraphs detailing specific spatial alterations. Cohesive devices such as 'The most noticeable change', 'As for the major improvement', and 'Another small change' are used to guide the reader through the text, although referencing is at times slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate different themes of development. To achieve a higher level of coherence, you could incorporate more sophisticated cohesive linking between sentences and avoid relying on formulaic transition phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing you to convey the key spatial transformations and facility additions clearly. You successfully attempt less common vocabulary such as 'designated', 'relocated', and 'renovated'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as writing 'at present times' instead of 'at the present time' or 'in the present day', and 'entry have been shifted' where 'access' or 'entrance' might be more precise. Spelling and word forms are generally well controlled. To reach a higher band, aim to incorporate a wider range of precise lexical items and collocation patterns specific to map descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and passive structures like 'have been swapped' and 'have been built'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the south eastern part of the harbour have been changed' and 'the southern car park's entry have been shifted', where 'has' is required). Another minor slip involves punctuation around non-restrictive elements, such as placing a comma before 'have been changed'. These errors rarely impede communication and do not obscure your meaning. To improve this criterion, ensure meticulous proofreading for subject-verb agreement and enhance the variety of complex sentence structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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