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 given maps illustrate the changes in Porth harbour in the year 2000 and at present.

Overall, it is clearly seen that porth harbour undergone a significant change. It is can be witness construction of new hotel and showers. Additionally, it is also noticeble that new dock is added.

Regarding, north of the map the public beach remain unchanged for particular period of time. While the new docks is doubled for the boats. Whereas fishing boats is exchanged with marina private yatchs space is enlarged for the boats to float. However, showers and toilets car parks stay at the same place. In contrast, for the personal hygiene a place was built next to the marina. Moreover, larger car park was connected to lifeboat road is now connected to main road.

In the right of the porth harbour a new hotel was constructed in the place of castle.The area of public beach is now used by the hotel as the private beach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the hotel replacing the disused castle, the southern beach becoming private, and the fishing boats and marina changing locations. You also note that the north-eastern public beach remains and that the dock accommodates more boats. These points address the main purpose of comparing the plans. However, the overview is unclear and includes the inaccurate claim that a “new dock” was added: the dock already existed, although an additional jetty and a second berthed boat appear today. Some details are also vague or misreported, such as saying facilities “stay at the same place” when a second showers-and-toilets block and car park were added. A clearer overview and more precise coverage of the changes would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing changes. This gives the reader some sense of how the comparison is organised. However, progression within the body is difficult to follow because locations and changes are mixed together, and several linking words are used awkwardly or repetitively. For example, “While” and “Whereas” introduce fragments rather than clearly connected comparisons, while “However” does not establish a clear contrast. The phrase “Regarding, north of the map” also makes the shift in focus unclear. Group the changes by area or by type, and use straightforward links such as “In the northern section” and “By contrast” only when the relationship is clear.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “public beach,” “car parks,” “marina,” “lifeboat,” and “private beach,” so the reader can identify many of the features being compared. There are also attempts at more specific wording, such as “replaced” and “constructed.” However, inaccurate word choice, spelling, and collocation sometimes make the meaning unclear: “new docks is doubled” does not clearly describe the extra jetty and boat, and “space is enlarged for the boats to float” is not a natural way to describe the marina’s relocation. “Personal hygiene” is also an imprecise label for showers and toilets. Use the map’s exact labels where possible and choose precise verbs such as “relocated,” “added,” and “remained.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and more complex comparisons, but grammatical errors occur in many sentences and sometimes make relationships difficult to understand. For example, “Porth harbour undergone” is missing an auxiliary verb, and “It is can be witness” has an incorrect verb construction. There are also agreement and article problems in “the new docks is doubled” and “the public beach remain unchanged.” Some sentence boundaries and punctuation need attention, as in “castle.The area,” while the clauses beginning “While” and “Whereas” are not complete sentences. Practise accurate past and present forms for map comparisons, subject–verb agreement, and complete clauses before adding linking words. This will make your range of sentence structures clearer and more reliable.

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