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 given layouts illustrate the porth harbour in 2000, along with the current state .

Overall,it is evident that there are various facilities developed in porth harbour such as commercial area and private beach.

To begin with, there were showers and toilets and two car parks in northwest side in 2000,but these are remained same in present day,but new showers and toilets are introduced in porth harbour.Also, the connectivity with the main road is improved in today.Additionally,the marina private yachts and fishing boats remain unchanged in current porth harbour.Moreover,there was a dock in the northeast side in 2000, but the new dock area buit in present day.

Probing further, the public beach and passenger ferries are remained same in today porth harbour , but near the lifeboat the cafes and shops are builted in current day. To add more, the castle disused replaced by hotel and also the public beach converted into private beach for the hotel in current time in porth harbour.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the hotel replacing the disused castle, the addition of cafés and shops, and the southern beach becoming private. However, the overview is broad and does not clearly summarise the main spatial changes. Some details are inaccurate: the marina and fishing-boat areas did not remain unchanged; they switched locations. The dock was already present in 2000, with an additional jetty and a second berthed boat added today, rather than a new dock being built. The statement that passenger ferries remain is not clearly supported by the plan. To strengthen the response, describe the relocation of the boats and marina accurately and include the new facilities and changes to the harbour’s use in a clearer overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two detail paragraphs. This gives the reader a basic progression from general changes to specific features. Linking expressions such as “To begin with,” “Additionally,” and “Moreover” help connect points, although several are used mechanically and do not always clarify how the details relate. The paragraph about the northern facilities combines changes that would be clearer if grouped by location or by what was replaced and added. Some references, such as “these” and “the new dock area,” are also unclear. Organise the comparison into distinct areas and use precise references to make the relationships between features easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “car parks,” “main road,” “marina,” “lifeboat,” and “private beach,” and you attempt more formal expressions such as “Overall” and “Probing further.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, which makes some descriptions imprecise. For example, “connectivity with the main road is improved” is vague because the map does not clearly show this, while “the new dock area” mislabels an existing dock that was modified. Forms such as “builted” and “built ed” are also noticeable vocabulary-form errors. Aim for precise verbs such as “relocated,” “added,” and “replaced,” and use natural collocations when describing map changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including contrasts with “but” and additions with “Additionally.” However, errors are frequent, and some sentence patterns are faulty. For example, “these are remained same” and “the public beach and passenger ferries are remained same” use an incorrect passive construction; write “remained unchanged” instead. Tense and agreement are also inconsistent in phrases such as “the new dock area buit in present day,” and several sentences lack spaces after commas or contain awkward punctuation. Practise forming accurate past and present passive structures, and check articles and verb forms. Shorter, well-controlled sentences would help make the comparisons clearer while you build range.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.