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 plans display the changes that took place in a harbour between now and the year 2000.

There were several modifications that took place in the harbour in this period. The main changes include the enlargement of dock area to north of the porth harbour, the replacement of castle to hotel and addition of new showers, toilets, cafes and shops.

In 2000, the dock area was in the northern area of the harbour, which is now enlarged in the same place. The main road was to the west of this harbour, which remains unchanged. There was a separate road attached with it that led to lifeboat which also had car park attached to it. There was a disused castle to the south-east section of this area which is now replaced by hotel. The separate road now doesn't have the car park attached with it, but its branch now leads to this hotel. In this area, there are now cafes and shops besides the lifeboat which was not there in 2000.

There was a branch of the main road which had car park in 2000. To the north of this were showers and toilets. There was marina just to the east of these cark park, showers and toilets. To the west of the car park, that was attached with the separate road were fishing boats. There is now a separate branch attached with the main road, which has the cark park and new showers and toilets to the north of it. The location of these fishing boats and marina are now interchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response identifies several major changes, including the hotel replacing the disused castle, the addition of cafés and shops, and the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas. It also notes that the main road remains in place and that the dock has been enlarged. These are relevant features and give the report a clear overall direction. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the car park was not attached to the lifeboat, and the fishing boats were south of the marina in 2000, not west of the car park beside the separate road. The overview also omits the change from a public to a private beach. The main features are selected, but more precise reporting and fuller coverage would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, a summary of the main changes, and two paragraphs describing locations. This helps the reader follow the broad comparison. However, progression within the body paragraphs is not consistently clear, particularly where the account moves between the road, lifeboat, car park and fishing boats. Repeated openings such as “There was” and “There is now” make the description feel list-like, while references such as “this area” and “these” are not always precise. Organise the details by map area or by type of change, and use clearer links such as “By contrast” or “Meanwhile” only where they express a real relationship. This would make the sequence more coherent and less repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant map vocabulary, including “replacement,” “enlargement,” “separate road,” and “interchanged,” and the reader can generally understand the intended changes. However, several word choices and collocations are awkward or imprecise: “between now and the year 2000” reverses the time relationship, “replacement of castle to hotel” is not idiomatic, and “attached with” is used repeatedly where a more exact spatial expression is needed. There are also spelling errors in “cark park” and inconsistent capitalisation of “Porth Harbour.” Aim for precise location language and natural collocations, such as “to the east of,” “was replaced by,” and “adjacent to.” This would improve clarity and range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the meaning remains clear. The writer uses past and present forms to compare the two plans, for example, “which remains unchanged” and “which is now replaced by hotel.” However, tense choices are sometimes inconsistent: “between now and the year 2000” does not fit the intended past-to-present comparison, and “which is now enlarged” would be clearer as a completed change. Some sentence patterns also need more accurate articles and prepositions, as in “replacement of castle to hotel” and “attached with it.” These errors do not usually prevent understanding, but careful editing of tense, articles and clause structure would make the comparisons more controlled.

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

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