Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-16

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 given diagram shows the alteration made over porth harbour over the period.

In the general overview, some changes are done in order to make port harbour more functional and convient.

It is evident from the plan that marina and fishing boats are exchanged from there position, car park and showers and toilet are constructed near these places. In the north west zone, there is public beach wich is situated in the north- east direction of harbour. Docks are newly built , where individuals enjoy ride over ferries. On the west side of the harbour , main road is passed along the beach , which has direct access to the car park.

Probing ahead, castle is converted into hotel, which is present in lower- right corner of the beach and it is connected to the road through pathway . In southern direction of porth harbour, some hotels are built along with private beach. Cafe and shops are established between marina and lifeboat.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several major changes, including the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas, the conversion of the castle into a hotel, and the addition of cafés and shops. Your overview also recognises that the harbour has been developed. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the car parks and facilities are not simply newly constructed near both exchanged areas, and the main road does not run along a beach or provide the access described. The dock is modified with an additional jetty rather than newly built, and the hotel is singular, not “some hotels.” To strengthen the response, report the main changes more precisely and include other important developments, such as the southern beach becoming private and the dock accommodating two boats.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, a general overview, and two paragraphs describing locations and changes. This gives the reader some sense of progression, and phrases such as “In the general overview” and “Probing ahead” signal movement between points. However, the organisation within the body is not consistently clear. The paragraph beginning “It is evident” combines the exchanged facilities, beaches, dock, road and car park without a clear sequence, while “In southern direction” repeats information about the hotel and beach. Some references, such as “these places” and “there position,” are difficult to follow. Grouping changes by area or by type, and using clearer links such as “In the north” and “By contrast,” would make the account easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “marina,” “fishing boats,” “lifeboat,” “private beach” and “converted into hotel.” This shows an attempt to describe both locations and changes. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning unclear. For example, “alteration made over” is not a natural way to describe changes to a harbour, and “enjoy ride over ferries” does not accurately express the ferry arrangement. There are also spelling errors in “convient” and “wich,” and “Docks are newly built” mislabels the change. Aim for precise map language such as “relocated,” “remained unchanged,” and “an additional jetty was added.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and more complex clauses, including “castle is converted into hotel, which is present…” and “Cafe and shops are established between marina and lifeboat.” However, grammatical control is uneven, and errors in articles, verb forms, agreement and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to read. For example, “some changes are done” uses an unsuitable passive form, while “marina and fishing boats are exchanged from there position” has problems with agreement, preposition and reference. Articles are also missing in “converted into hotel” and “between marina and lifeboat.” Practise accurate past-tense passive forms for map changes, such as “was converted” and “were relocated,” and check articles and subject–verb agreement.

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