Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-10

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 7.0)

The maps illustrate the present day layout of Porth harbour and how it looked like in the year 2000.

As of today, Porth harbour has undergone significant changes. Many new facilities have been added, like the hotel, new toilets, cafes and shops. Some unused and old sections have been removed. Other areas in the harbour have been expanded while some have been interchanged.

In the modern day layout, a new docking station for passenger ferries has been added right beside the existing one in the north of the harbour. To the west of the dock, the fishing boats complex has been converted into the marina yachts section and the yacht club is now used for the fishing boats. This has provided a bigger space for the yachts. The showers, toilets and car park located in the northwest of the harbour remain preserved along with the lifeboat placed south of the dock.

Besides the lifeboat, new cafes and shops have opened up. The road connected to the lifeboat now continues to the newly built hotel which has replaced the old castle. The public beach is now in use by the hotel, who have made it a private beach. This beach is to the south of the harbour. The second car park towards southwest of the harbour is now directly connected to the main road rather than the secondary road leading to the hotel. A new washroom has been added in between the car parks, to the left of the yachts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response gives a clear overview of substantial redevelopment and reports several key changes accurately, including the hotel replacing the disused castle, the beach becoming private, and the marina and fishing-boat areas switching locations. It also identifies new cafés and shops and the additional ferry facility. These details address the main features of the plans and are generally supported with locations. However, some statements misread or overstate the layout: the new showers and toilets are not simply “in between the car parks,” and the second car park is not described as directly connected to the main road in the plans. The claim that the lifeboat is south of the dock is also imprecise. A more systematic comparison of what stayed the same and what changed would make the account more consistently precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is organised into a brief introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes, so the reader can follow the general progression from the northern facilities to the southern beach and hotel. Linking phrases such as “Besides the lifeboat” and “The road connected to the lifeboat” help connect related features. However, the sequence is not always easy to track spatially: the discussion moves between the dock, marina, lifeboat, road and car parks without a consistent north-to-south or before-to-now structure. “Other areas … have been expanded while some have been interchanged” is also vague and does not clearly preview the specific changes. Grouping the changes by location and using clearer references to the two maps would make cohesion more flexible and precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is a useful range of vocabulary for describing map changes, including “converted,” “replaced,” “preserved,” “continues,” and “interchanged.” These choices help communicate redevelopment and relocation, and the response generally uses relevant terms for the facilities. Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural for this task, however: “docking station” is not the clearest term for the added jetty, “fishing boats complex” is awkward, and “the marina yachts section” is not a natural collocation. “New toilets” also loses the more accurate distinction between showers and toilets. Aim for precise map vocabulary and natural combinations, such as “additional jetty,” “fishing-boat area,” and “marina for private yachts.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

The response uses a good mix of simple and complex sentences, including relative clauses (“which has replaced the old castle”) and a comparison structure (“rather than the secondary road”). Most sentences are clear and grammatically controlled, supporting the description of several changes. A few errors or awkward constructions remain. In the opening, “how it looked like” should be “what it looked like” or “how it looked.” In “the hotel, who have made it a private beach,” the relative pronoun and verb agreement do not fit the singular hotel; use “which has made it a private beach.” The phrase “the lifeboat placed south of the dock” would also be clearer as a complete clause, such as “the lifeboat station, which is located…”. These are limited issues, but correcting them would strengthen accuracy.

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

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