Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-15

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 maps depict the looks of harbour in 2000, comparing with today's outlook.

Overall, porth harbour has gone through number of changes by today with the well connected road network , hotel and construction of showers and toilets to facilitate public.

In in detail, the number of showers and toilets have been increased to two, next to the car park which connects directly with the main road. There was space allocated for marina and fishing which is now subsitituted with each other in same location.

Furthermore, new dock has been added next to the old one on its western side, facilitating visitors with more number of passenger ferries. Castle has been replaced with hotel, whereas cafes and shops has been added in between marina and lifeboat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two maps and give an overview of change, mentioning the hotel, added facilities and the exchange of the marina and fishing areas. However, the overview is broad, and several important changes are missing or unclear: the southern beach becomes private, the northern public beach remains, and the dock gains another jetty rather than simply a “new dock.” The claim that this provides “more number of passenger ferries” is not supported; the map shows two boats at the dock, not an increase in ferries. The response also contains 126 words, below the required 150, so the account is too brief to report the main features adequately. Add accurate details about locations and the beaches, and avoid unsupported interpretations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and two detail paragraphs. Linking expressions such as “Overall” and “Furthermore” help signal progression, and the main changes are grouped rather than listed randomly. However, the progression is not always clear: the second paragraph combines facilities, road access and the relocation of harbour uses without explaining their positions precisely. “In in detail” is an inaccurate transition, while “There was space allocated…” leaves the reader unsure which areas are being compared. Develop the account in a clearer spatial order—for example, north to south—and use references such as “in the northern basin” and “along the southern shore” to connect details more precisely.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “marina,” “car park,” “replaced” and “adjacent,” which helps communicate the changes. There is also an attempt to vary wording with “depict,” “facilitate” and “allocated.” However, several choices are unnatural or imprecise, such as “today’s outlook,” “well connected road network” and “more number of passenger ferries.” Spelling errors in “subsitituted” and inconsistent capitalisation of “Porth Harbour” also reduce accuracy. Aim for straightforward, precise language suited to describing locations and changes, and check spelling and collocations. For example, “the marina and fishing-boat areas exchanged locations” is clearer than “substituted with each other in same location.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a range of sentence forms, including a comparison in the introduction and a contrast with “whereas.” Some sentences communicate the main idea, but grammatical errors are frequent enough to make parts awkward or unclear. Examples include “the looks of harbour,” “has gone through number of changes,” and “In in detail”; these show problems with articles, phrasing and sentence control. There are also agreement errors in “cafes and shops has been added” and “the number … have been increased.” Review subject–verb agreement, articles and plural forms, and proofread for repeated words and spacing around punctuation. Building accurate simple sentences first will make longer comparisons more reliable.

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