Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The maps compares the layout of Porth Harbour in 2000 and at present. The area underwent significant development, with the establishment of residential and recreational facilities such as hotel, cafes, etc. While few buildings were added and removed over the years, public beach and refreshing were among the ones that remained unchanged.

In 2000, the south eastern part of the porth is occupied by a isolated castle, where a public beach is nearby. Another public beach is located opposite to the castle, which have dock and passenger ferries . Adjacent to the beach was marina and fishing boats were placed on other side. Car park is provided on either side of entrance through the main road, where showers and toilers are located near marina.

At present, the place once stood by castle is now repurposed into hotel. The docks on the opposite is expanded, while the location of marina and fishing boats were interchanged. Another notable addition is the refreshing facility around the another car park. Cafe and shops were built on the way through castle.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change from a castle to a hotel and note that the marina and fishing-boat areas switched locations. These are relevant comparisons, and your opening recognises that the harbour was developed. However, the overview is unclear: “public beach and refreshing were among the ones that remained unchanged” does not accurately describe the map, since the southern beach became private, and “refreshing” is not a mapped feature. Several locations are also misreported or vague. For example, the public beach is not near the castle in 2000, and the marina was not adjacent to a beach. You mention the expanded dock and new cafés and shops, but do not clearly describe the new private beach or the retained north-eastern public beach. Select the major changes accurately and summarise them in a clear overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by a description of the earlier layout and then the present-day changes. This gives the reader a basic chronological progression, and phrases such as “In 2000” and “At present” help signal the time contrast. However, some connections between features are difficult to follow, particularly “Another public beach is located opposite to the castle, which have dock and passenger ferries.” The reference of “which” is unclear, and the description does not establish the locations in a consistent way. The final paragraph also combines several changes without explaining their spatial relationships. Use clearer topic sentences and organise each period by area or by major change, with precise references such as “in the north” and “to the south of the road.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “layout,” “establishment,” “interchanged,” and “expanded,” which helps convey development and comparison. However, several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, sometimes making the map features hard to identify. “Refreshing” does not name a facility shown on the plan, while “isolated castle” and “the place once stood by castle” are awkward descriptions. “Toilers” appears to be a misspelling of “toilets,” and “cafes” should be written with the appropriate accent or as “cafés.” The phrase “facilities such as hotel, cafes, etc.” is also too general for a map summary. Aim for precise labels from the plan and natural collocations, such as “a hotel was built on the former castle site” and “showers and toilets.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “While” and a relative clause beginning “where.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some errors in agreement, articles, tense, and sentence construction reduce accuracy. For example, “The maps compares” should be “The maps compare,” and “which have dock” needs a singular verb and a clearer antecedent. In “the south eastern part of the porth is occupied by a isolated castle,” the article and capitalisation are incorrect, and the present tense is inconsistent with the 2000 description. The sentence beginning “Adjacent to the beach was marina” also needs an article. Check subject–verb agreement, use past tense for the earlier map, and proofread articles and sentence boundaries.

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

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