Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The given plans illustrate the Porth Harbour in 2000 and in present time.

Overall, the Porth Harbour had facilities such as big Dockyard, Castle on the other side, Car parkings, Marina and Fishing boats earlier but in present there have been few changes, some new additional facilities and also, replacements happened over the period.

In 2000, it had two sub roads which connects separately to the single lane main road; the first one leads directly to the small car parking and just above the parking it had showers and toilets. The second road leads to the sea shore and before the shore it had the Castle with Public beach onto the south east. Although it had Lifeboat available and the Dockyard had two gates faced towards to the Northern side of Public beach. While there was a giant space for the Fishing boats.

In present, The fishing boats and Marina switched up there places. Whereas the new gate has been made on Dockyard with passenger ferries as usual. Moreover, the new showers and toilets have been made near the Marina. The Cafes and shops are opened near the Life boat area and the Castle is changed into the Hotel and also, the hotel initially bought the public beach and turned into the private for the Hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main overall pattern: the harbour has been redeveloped, the fishing boats and marina have exchanged locations, and the disused castle has become a hotel. These are relevant, central changes, and you also mention the new cafés and shops and the hotel’s private beach. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the 2000 plan shows a dock, not a “big Dockyard,” and the dock has one boat rather than “two gates”; the new plan adds a jetty and shows two boats. The description of the roads and facilities is also difficult to match to the plans. Your overview is present, but it could distinguish more clearly between major changes and features that remained, such as the north-eastern public beach and main road. More precise reporting would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the earlier and current plans. This gives the reader a coherent overall route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes disrupted by unclear links and sentence fragments. For example, “Although it had Lifeboat available…” is not a complete independent sentence, while “While there was a giant space…” is also left hanging. Connectors such as “Whereas” and “Moreover” are used, but the relationships they signal are not always clear. Some references, including “the first one” and “the second road,” require the reader to infer which features are meant. Grouping changes by location or by what was added, moved, and replaced would make the comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “Marina,” “Fishing boats,” “showers and toilets,” “private beach,” and “replacements,” so the main subject is generally clear. There are also attempts at more descriptive language, such as “leads directly” and “switched up.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for a map description: “Dockyard” does not accurately name the labelled “Dock,” “car parkings” is not the usual form, and “bought the public beach” misrepresents the change to a private hotel beach. “Giant space” is also vague and informal. Aim for exact labels and neutral verbs such as “relocated,” “added,” and “converted”; this would improve precision and control without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses introduced by “Although,” “Whereas,” and “before,” but control is uneven. Errors in agreement and verb forms appear in “two sub roads which connects” and “the new showers and toilets have been made”; the latter also uses an awkward passive construction. Articles and prepositions are sometimes inaccurate, as in “in present time” and “towards to the Northern side.” Sentence boundaries are a particular concern: “Although it had Lifeboat available…” and “While there was a giant space…” are dependent clauses presented as complete sentences. These issues sometimes make relationships between features harder to understand. Use complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement, tense consistency, and clause punctuation.

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