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)

This map compares the Port Harbour of 2000 and nowadays.

In 2000, there was a main road from the northwest corner to the southwest corner, which remains there. There were two roads from that main road. One road went into cark park, and there were showers and toilets up there, and a marina for private yachts to the right of both, same as today, but there is one more road over it, on which there are also a car park and showers and toilets; but beside it is a fishing boat place, but in the past it was on the second road after the second car park, and on the same road on the last there was a lifeboat, and a dock directly opposite it, and a small public beach directly at the back. There was a big public beach on the right side of the dock, and a disused castle at the southeast corner, which has now been converted into a hotel.

That small public beach has been converted into a private beach for the hotel, and cafes and shops are built on the left side of the lifeboat, and the dock has now become two between the big public beach and the fishing boats.

Overall, there are many changes in both times, but the ocean remains almost the same.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several important changes, including the castle becoming a hotel, the southern beach becoming private, and cafés and shops being added near the lifeboat. However, the summary only partially covers the plans, and some key details are inaccurate or unclear. For example, the marina did not remain in the same place: it moved from the northern basin to the southern one, while the fishing boats moved in the opposite direction. The dock did not simply “become two”; it gained an additional jetty, with two boats berthed on opposite sides. The overview that “the ocean remains almost the same” is too general to summarise the main changes. Select the major relocations and developments accurately, then give a concise overview of the harbour’s transformation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has some organisation: it begins with the earlier layout, then describes changes today, and ends with an overall statement. However, the progression is difficult to follow because many locations and changes are packed into long sentences. The sentence beginning “There were two roads from that main road” continues through several features using repeated “and” and “but,” making it hard to distinguish the original layout from the present one. References such as “over it,” “beside it,” and “the second road” are also unclear. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the main comparisons, and group features by area or by change. Clear links such as “In contrast,” “Meanwhile,” and “In the southern part” would help guide the reader without overloading sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “main road,” “marina,” “lifeboat,” “disused castle,” and “private beach,” so the reader can recognise many of the features. However, several expressions are imprecise or informal for describing a plan. “Fishing boat place” and “small public beach directly at the back” do not clearly identify the locations, while “the dock has now become two” mislabels the change. “Nowadays” is understandable, but “today” or “at present” is more suitable in this formal comparison. Aim for precise terms such as “basin,” “harbour entrance,” “relocated,” and “additional jetty,” and avoid vague phrases like “over it” when describing spatial relationships.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the main message is generally understandable. However, long sentences with several clauses are not controlled consistently, as in “...but there is one more road over it, on which there are also a car park and showers and toilets; but beside it...” The repeated conjunctions and unclear clause boundaries make the relationships difficult to follow. There are also tense and article problems: “This map compares the Port Harbour of 2000 and nowadays” mixes time expressions awkwardly, and “there was a main road” is less suitable when describing a feature that remains. Use past simple for the 2000 plan and present simple for today, and check articles and sentence boundaries. Shorter, accurately punctuated comparisons would improve control.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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