Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-11

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 following diagrams compare map of Porth Harbor between 2000 and present time.

A close analysis of these two maps shows numerous significant changes that took place over time at the Porth Harbour.

Firstly, the main road, the car parks as well as the public beach stayed unchanged over the time period. However, changes happened in the area of dock, the North-west corner and the South-east corner of the map. The abandoned castle is now replaced by a hotel and the public beach belongs to the hotel at present time. A road has also been contructed, connecting the hotel to the main road. Moreover, numerous cafes, shops have also been launched beside the lifeboat services in that particular area.

A new dock has been contructed beside the old one. Fishing boat and Marina(private yachts) interchanged their position, fishing boat taking the place of the Marina and vice-versa.

Throughout the years, several rennovations have taken place over the area and it has now become more developed area compared to the period back in 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource6.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy6.0
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several major changes, including the replacement of the disused castle by a hotel, the change to a private beach, the addition of cafés and shops, and the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas. These are relevant and generally accurate. However, the overview is broad rather than selective: “numerous significant changes” and “more developed” do not clearly summarise the main pattern of redevelopment. Some details are also unclear or inaccurate. The road to the hotel was already shown in 2000, so it was not newly constructed, and the dock gained an additional jetty rather than a wholly new dock. You also say the car parks stayed unchanged, although the facilities around them changed. A clearer overview and more precise comparisons would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: it introduces the maps, groups several changes together, and ends with a general summary. Linking expressions such as “Firstly,” “However,” and “Moreover” help guide the reader, and the comparison between the marina and fishing boats is easy to follow. This shows a sound progression, though the organisation is not consistently precise. The first body paragraph combines road, car-park, beach, hotel, and commercial changes, while the dock and water-use changes are separated into a short paragraph. Some references, such as “that particular area,” are vague, and “the old one” does not clearly identify the dock. Grouping changes by location or type and using more exact references would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing change, including “replaced,” “interchanged their position,” and “renovations,” and the main meaning remains clear. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “A close analysis” and “over the time period.” However, some choices are unnatural or imprecise: “the public beach belongs to the hotel” would be better expressed as “became a private beach for the hotel,” while “launched” is not suitable for cafés and shops opening. “A new dock” also mislabels the additional jetty. Spelling errors such as “contructed” and “rennovations,” along with inconsistent spelling of “harbour/Harbor,” reduce accuracy. More precise map vocabulary and careful proofreading would strengthen this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the contrast in “However, changes happened…” and the participle construction “fishing boat taking the place of the Marina.” Most sentences communicate the intended meaning, but some grammatical errors remain. The opening needs an article and a more natural time expression: “compare map” should be “compare the maps,” and “between 2000 and present time” should be “between 2000 and the present day.” There are also article and number issues in “a more developed area” and “Fishing boat and Marina … interchanged their position.” The final sentence would be clearer as “the area has become more developed.” Continue practising articles, plurals, and consistent past-versus-present descriptions.

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

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