Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-09

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 both plans represent tha harbour how looks in the past and now.

Looking at the information in more detail, the Porth harbour in 2000 a public beach was in north. The main road was in west side and two car parks were right side of the road. Further, a showers and toilets were near the north car park,as well as there were fishing boats, lifeboat , a narrow road was in south and second public beach in south beside the public beach a castle in south east.

Moreover, there are enhace many new facilities than 2000, for example built a new one showers and toilets bettween two car parks, next the castel is completely remove and creat new hotel over there. Another, establish a cafes and shopes near the south road.

Overall, the most noteble feature the castel is remove and create new hotel, and build some other accomodations.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant features, including the west-side main road, the two car parks, the lifeboat, and the replacement of the castle by a hotel. However, the description is only partial and some locations are inaccurate: the public beach in the north is actually to the north-east, and the second beach is south of the road, not “beside the public beach.” The overview focuses on the hotel and added facilities but misses major changes, especially the exchange of the fishing-boat and marina areas and the changes to the dock. To improve, give a clear overview of the main transformations, then compare the two plans accurately using the compass directions and relative positions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a paragraph describing the earlier plan, a paragraph about changes, and a concluding overview. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. Linking expressions such as “Further,” “Moreover,” and “Overall” help signal stages, although some connections feel mechanical or do not clearly show how details relate. For example, the long sentence beginning “The main road was in west side” combines several locations without a clear sequence, and the final overview repeats the hotel change rather than drawing together the main comparisons. Grouping features by area or by what changed would make the progression clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “harbour,” “car parks,” “lifeboat,” “facilities,” and “hotel,” so the topic is generally understandable. However, the range is limited, and several spelling and word-choice errors make parts less clear, such as “tha,” “enhace,” “castel,” “shopes,” and “accomodations.” Some phrases are also imprecise: “built a new one showers and toilets” does not clearly describe the added facilities, while “remove” is not the natural choice for the castle’s replacement. Aim for accurate map vocabulary and collocations such as “was replaced by,” “was relocated,” and “was situated adjacent to.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, but control is uneven, and errors sometimes make relationships between features difficult to follow. For example, “The both plans represent tha harbour how looks” has an incorrect article and sentence structure; “a public beach was in north” is missing an article before the direction; and “next the castel is completely remove and creat new hotel” has problems with tense and sentence construction. The description also shifts between past and present without a consistent pattern. Practise forming accurate past-tense comparisons for the 2000 plan and present-tense descriptions for today, and check articles, verb forms, and sentence boundaries.

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

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