Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-13

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 4.0)

There are many major changes has been done on the Porth Horbour, since year 2000 and to the present day.

On one hand, Porth Harbour had a single dock for boats which is used for passanger ferries too. There was two public beaches, one is on the north near the dock and other one is located on the south next to the castle which was abandon and disused.

On the

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.0

The response identifies the harbour and makes a few relevant observations about the dock, ferries, beaches and disused castle. However, it does not summarise how the harbour has changed: the response stops after “On the” and gives no account of the present-day layout or an overview of the main developments. The statement that there were two public beaches is broadly supported, but the southern beach is described as being next to the castle rather than south of the road, and the castle itself is on the south-eastern headland. The required minimum of 150 words is not met; at 70 words, the response is too limited to select and report the key comparisons. To improve, complete the comparison and cover major changes such as the relocated marina and fishing boats, the hotel and private beach, and new facilities.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to organise information: an opening sentence introduces change over time, followed by a paragraph beginning “On one hand” that describes some features of the 2000 plan. The ideas within that paragraph are understandable and broadly related. However, the response ends with the unfinished phrase “On the”, so there is no completed contrast, progression to the present-day plan, or concluding overview. “On one hand” also signals a contrast that is never supplied. Use separate, complete paragraphs for the overview and the main comparisons, and connect changes explicitly—for example, contrast the original marina location with its current position. This would give the report a clearer progression rather than leaving the reader without the central comparison.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary is sufficient to identify several map features, including “dock”, “public beaches”, “passenger ferries” and “disused”. These terms are relevant and generally allow the reader to understand what is being described. However, the range is narrow because the response covers only a few features and does not use language for describing change, such as relocation, replacement or addition. There are also noticeable spelling and word-choice problems: “Horbour” and “passanger” are misspelled, while “abandon” is not the correct form in “was abandon and disused”. Aim for accurate map vocabulary and varied change verbs, such as “was converted into”, “was relocated to” and “was added”.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response uses simple sentences and makes an attempt at a longer sentence with “which”, so there is some control of basic sentence construction. However, grammatical errors are frequent in this short sample. “There are many major changes has been done” combines incompatible verb forms; a correct version would be “Many major changes have been made”. In “Porth Harbour had a single dock … which is used”, the tense shifts from past to present, and “There was two public beaches” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. The final “On the” is an incomplete sentence. Practise consistent past-tense descriptions of the 2000 plan and present-tense descriptions of today, while checking agreement and completing each sentence.

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