Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-14

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 plan illustrates the map of harbour in 2000 and its current look.

In 2000, the old porth harbour was quite different. In the west side of the harbour, there is a main road which has two small roads that lead to the harbour side. One path from the north east side of the harbour has a car park with showers and toilets area in its north side and to the east side there is marina for private yachts with fishing boats in its south direction. There were two docks for passenger ferries on the west side of the public beach. The other path has a car park on its enterance. Furthermore, the road goes on where lifeboat is situated. Also there is a disused castle and a public beach is located on the south west of this castle.

In the current map of the harbour, the changes include are that the fishing boats and marina are shuffled. One more dock is added for passenger ferries. In the south east small road, cafes and shops are built on the west side of lifeboat and the castle is transformed into hotel and public beach is now a private beach for hotel use only.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important changes, including the relocation of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of a jetty, and the conversion of the castle and beach for hotel use. However, the response only partially covers the plans: it lacks a clear overview of the main pattern of change, and some details are inaccurate or unclear. For example, the 2000 map shows a dock at the northern entrance, not “two docks” on the west side of the public beach; the public beach is north-east of the harbour, while the southern beach is south of the road. The current map also adds cafés and shops and a second showers-and-toilets area, which are not fully reported. Group the major changes into a concise overview, then describe locations accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable chronological structure: it first describes the 2000 plan and then turns to the current map. Linking expressions such as “Furthermore,” “Also,” and “In the current map” help signal this progression. However, the first paragraph moves between roads, facilities, boats and beaches without a clear organising principle, and some references are difficult to follow, as in “The other path” and “the west side of the public beach.” The final paragraph lists changes in quick succession rather than grouping related developments. Use a clear overview followed by separate descriptions of the northern and southern areas, and make each location reference explicit. This would make the progression easier to follow while retaining the existing paragraph structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “main road,” “car park,” “passenger ferries,” “lifeboat,” and “disused castle,” so the reader can identify many features. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “transformed into hotel.” However, several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, including “the changes include are,” “shuffled,” “on its enterance,” and “in its south direction.” “Two docks” also mislabels the map feature. These choices sometimes make the spatial description harder to understand. Aim for precise verbs and standard location phrases, such as “relocated,” “to the south of,” and “adjacent to,” and check spelling and collocations before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, for example, “One path from the north east side of the harbour has a car park…” and “Furthermore, the road goes on where lifeboat is situated.” This shows some range, but control is uneven. Errors include the missing article in “map of harbour,” the tense shift from “there is” to “There were” in the 2000 description, and the faulty construction “the changes include are that.” Articles are also missing in “where lifeboat is situated” and “transformed into hotel.” These problems can make relationships between features unclear, although the general meaning is often recoverable. Keep past-tense descriptions consistent for 2000 and use complete, straightforward sentence patterns when describing locations.

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