Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-12

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 5.0)

The diagram illustrates the proportion of a harbour in year 2000 and how it looks now.

According to the diagram, In year 2000, Main road is on the west of map, Public beach on the north, also there is a Dock near beach. The car park is on the East of main road, Fishing boats are next to the Car park. Castle lies on the Southeast corner near Public beach. There is a another road from Main road to life boat.

Now there are some changes in Harbour, Castle is replaced by Hotel, Fishing boats by Marina. Also there is a new dock is made on the north. There are some Cafe's and shops near life boat. There is no change on Showers and toilets, but the public beach is changed by private beach for the hotel.

In conclusion, there are some changes by the passage of time in Porth Harbour.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response identifies a few genuine changes, including the castle becoming a hotel, fishing boats being replaced by a marina, and cafés and shops being added. However, it reports the maps only partially and includes important inaccuracies: the public beach is not in the north in 2000, and the beach that becomes private is the southern beach, not the north-eastern public beach, which remains. The claim that a new dock was made is also imprecise; the existing dock gains an additional jetty and accommodates two boats. There is no clear overview of the main pattern of redevelopment, and several key changes—such as the marina and fishing boats switching locations—are not explained accurately. A more complete, location-based comparison would better address the task.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable sequence: it first describes the earlier harbour, then the present-day changes, and ends with a conclusion. This gives the reader a basic overall structure. However, the information within the first paragraph is presented as a list, and the second paragraph groups several changes together without clearly distinguishing what moved, what was added, and what remained. Linking phrases such as “According to the diagram” and “Now” help signal the stages, but connections between individual features are limited. The final sentence repeats the general idea of change rather than summarising the most important developments. Organising the comparison into clearer groups—for example, harbour facilities, transport, and beaches—would improve progression and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to identify several map features, including “Main road,” “Fishing boats,” “Castle,” “Hotel,” and “Showers and toilets.” The writer also attempts relevant change language with “replaced” and “there is a new dock.” However, the range of verbs for describing map changes is limited, and some choices are inaccurate or imprecise: “proportion” does not describe a harbour plan, while “the public beach is changed by private beach” misrepresents which beach changes. There are also awkward forms such as “life boat” and “Cafe’s,” and “on the east of main road” is not a natural location phrase. Use precise terms such as “relocated,” “remained,” and “was converted into,” alongside accurate directional descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response mainly uses short, simple statements, with a few attempts to combine ideas, such as “There is a another road from Main road to life boat.” This limited range restricts the ability to compare locations and changes in more developed sentences. Errors occur in articles and sentence construction: “a another road” should be “another road,” and “Castle is replaced by Hotel” needs appropriate articles and tense, such as “The castle has been replaced by a hotel.” Capitalisation is inconsistent, as in “In year 2000,” and some sentences omit articles before map features. These errors do not prevent the reader from following the general message, but more accurate sentence patterns and controlled use of past and present forms would make the comparisons clearer.

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