Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The provided maps illustrates a harbour called Porth Habour in 2000 and how it looks currently.

Overall, the harbour went through a lot of changes which includes swapping of Marina and Fishing boats area. Also there are now two instead of one Dock and public beach is changed into private. Castle area is changed into a hotel and some shops are also added in central area.

In 2000, there was a main road in the west which was linked with both car parks. There was a shower and toilet area alongside Marina private yachts. In north east side, the harbour contained some passenger feries with one Dock and a public beach.Fishing boats were located just below Marina area. If we look at south eastern side, there was a public beach alongside a castle which was not used and a life boat which was linked with road.

Today, fishing boats and Marina area is swapped and number of Docks and passenger ferries are increased by one one. A new shower and toilet area is added above car park. In the south east side of harbour, public beach is changed into private beach and castle area is taken by a hotel. Cafes and shops are added in left side of lifeboat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation clearly: the marina and fishing-boat areas exchange locations, the disused castle becomes a hotel, and the southern beach becomes private. The overview also notes new shops, giving the reader a useful summary of the harbour’s redevelopment. Most details are relevant, but some are inaccurate or unclear: there is still one dock, with an additional jetty, rather than “two instead of one Dock”; the number of passenger ferries is not shown as increasing; and the private beach is south of the road, not specifically on the south-eastern side. Some important changes, such as the added facilities and the new marina-side car park, are only briefly covered. More precise comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, a summary of the main changes, and separate descriptions of the earlier and current layouts. This makes the comparison easy to follow, and phrases such as “In 2000” and “Today” help signal the time periods. However, some linking and referencing are imprecise. For example, “number of Docks and passenger ferries are increased by one one” combines two claims unclearly, while “a new shower and toilet area is added above car park” does not make the location or relationship between features clear. The repeated use of “area” and directional phrases also makes the progression somewhat mechanical. Grouping changes by location or by type, and using clearer references to the two beaches and facilities, would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “car parks,” “Marina,” “public beach,” and “lifeboat,” and terms such as “swapped” and “replaced” help describe change. However, the range and precision are limited by repeated general words such as “area” and “changed,” as well as several inaccurate or awkward choices. “Two instead of one Dock” mislabels the added jetty, and “castle area is taken by a hotel” is not a natural way to describe replacement. Spelling errors such as “Habour” and “feries” are noticeable, while “shower and toilet area” does not match the map’s label as naturally as “showers and toilets.” More precise map language and careful spelling would make the description clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including “If we look at south eastern side…” and clauses describing how features changed. The main meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. The opening has subject–verb disagreement in “maps illustrates,” and “changes which includes” also needs agreement. Articles and sentence boundaries are sometimes missing, as in “In north east side” and “public beach.Fishing boats.” The present-day description also shifts between forms: “is swapped,” “is added,” and “are added” are not consistently controlled. Try checking agreement, articles, and punctuation, and use accurate past and present forms when comparing the two maps. These corrections would make your varied sentence attempts more reliable.

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