Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-07

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)

In this map, a comparison of Porth Harbour is shown. And the development is given in the second map.

Overall, the south portion of the porth is more modified as compare to the northern side.

Firstly, the map shows that how the porth harbour looks in the 2000. The porth was on the right side of the main road. On the northern side there was a public beach and a dock. At the western side there was a car parking and toilets and showers and beside this there was a Marina(a private yachts). In south a linking road comes from the main road and at first left there was also a car parking. Next to it, there are fishing boats and next to it lifeboat and at the end there was a disused castle.

In the second map, there are two docks at northern side and fishing boats are also there. And on southern side there are new toilets and showers and marina and also new shops and cafes are opened and at the end the Hotel is made and there is a little beach for the hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad change that the harbour’s southern area has been redeveloped, and you mention several relevant features, including the marina, fishing boats, cafés and shops, hotel, and beach. However, the overview is too general to capture the main changes clearly, and some details are inaccurate or unclear. For example, the northern public beach is not described as being on the northern side of the harbour, and the dock has an additional jetty and two boats today rather than simply “two docks.” The response also does not clearly explain that the marina and fishing-boat areas have exchanged locations. To strengthen the summary, give a more precise overview and compare the key changes directly, including the hotel replacing the disused castle and the beach becoming private.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by a description of the 2000 plan and then the present-day plan. This gives the reader a basic chronological progression. However, the sequence within the first body paragraph is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in “at first left there was also a car parking,” where the location is unclear. Linking is also mechanical, with repeated “and,” “next to it,” and “there was.” The opening fragments, “In this map, a comparison…” and “And the development…,” interrupt the flow. Organise each paragraph around clear areas or changes, and use more precise referencing and transitions to show how features relate across the two plans.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary such as “main road,” “public beach,” “marina,” “lifeboat,” and “disused castle,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, the range is limited and several choices are imprecise or unnatural, including “car parking,” “a Marina(a private yachts),” and “a little beach for the hotel.” Repeated use of “there was,” “next to it,” and “new” also makes the description less precise. Aim for accurate location and change vocabulary, such as “situated,” “relocated,” “replaced by,” and “converted into a private beach.” Check spelling and capitalisation of place names and labels, and use natural collocations such as “car park” and “private yachts.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates the general sequence of changes, but grammatical control is inconsistent. Several sentence patterns are faulty, for example, “The map shows that how the porth harbour looks in the 2000” and “Overall, the south portion … is more modified as compare to the northern side.” There are also problems with articles, agreement, and tense consistency in phrases such as “a Marina” and “there are fishing boats … and next to it lifeboat.” Most sentences rely on simple clauses joined with “and,” so the range is limited; attempts to combine ideas sometimes produce awkward structures. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions for the 2000 plan and present-tense descriptions for today, while building clearer complex sentences with “whereas,” “while,” and “which.”

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