Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-08

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 maps illustrate a habour back in 2000 and how it looks at present.

Overall, at present the harbour is more of a tourist attraction. The previously disused castle has been transformed into a hotel and has its own private beach. The harbor now has cafes and shops as well.

On the southern side of the harbour, there was a disused castle. This castle has now been transformed in to hotel. The public beach next to the castle is now a private beach for the hotel. Moreover, a road segment has also been build to provides a path from the road to the hotel. At present, on the left side of the lifeboat area are cafes and shops.

On the east of the main road, more showers and toilets have been installed. Moreover, the areas allocated to the fishing boats and marina (private yachts) previously have now been switched. Next to the public beach, there was one dock in 2000. However, now a new dock has also been constructed right next to the previous one. The position of passenger ferries and car parking remains the same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You give a clear overview of the harbour’s shift towards tourism, highlighting the hotel, private beach, and new cafés and shops. You also report several important changes accurately, including the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas and the addition of facilities. This addresses the main features and supports a strong account of the plans. However, some details are imprecise: the dock was not replaced by a second dock; an additional jetty and a second berthed boat were added. The statement that passenger ferries and car parking remain in the same positions is also too broad, since the car parks are rearranged and the ferry label is not shown in the same way. More precise comparisons of these changes would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs, giving the reader a clear route through the comparison. The progression from the southern attractions to facilities and harbour use is generally logical, and linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “However” help connect points. This shows a coherent overall arrangement. At times, though, the links feel mechanical, and the final paragraph groups several unrelated changes together. References such as “the previous one” in the dock sentence are not fully clear, while “On the east of the main road” does not guide the reader as precisely as a location-based transition could. Grouping changes by area and using clearer references would make cohesion more flexible and natural.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing the plans, including “transformed,” “allocated,” “installed,” and “remains the same.” These choices help communicate the main developments, and the tourism-related overview is expressed clearly. There are also some inaccurate or awkward choices: “habour” is misspelled, “build” is used where the past participle is needed, and “a new dock has also been constructed right next to the previous one” does not accurately describe the added jetty. “On the left side” is less precise than a compass direction. Overall, the vocabulary is sufficient, but more accurate map terminology, spelling, and collocations would improve precision and flexibility.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the contrast in “The public beach next to the castle is now a private beach for the hotel” and the clause beginning “Moreover, the areas allocated…”. Most meanings remain clear, but some grammatical errors persist. For example, “transformed in to hotel” needs the correct preposition and article, “has also been build” has an incorrect participle, and “to provides” should use the base form after “to.” The sentence “On the east of the main road” also has an awkward prepositional construction. Review articles, verb forms, and infinitive patterns, then proofread for these recurring slips while retaining your varied sentence structures.

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