Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-17

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 diagrams below show a Porth Harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Alot of changes are made in Harbour. Major changes are now there is a hotel in place of castle. The public beach which was located south east near castle is turned into private beach for the hotel people who stay in hotel only they can go there. In 2000 there was only one dock for passenger ferries but now there are two docks for passenger ferries.

Near the dock in west there was a Marina area, which is now replaced by fishing boats. The road which led to the life boat area now there are cafes and shops are built next to the life boats in west.

In 2000 the car park in north west have acces from the main road and the second car park in south west has the acces from the link road. But now both car park areas have acces from the main road. There was only showers and toilest next to one car park but now both car park have showers and toilets area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

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 station. These are relevant comparisons and give the reader a general sense of the redevelopment. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the northern dock has an additional jetty and two boats, rather than becoming “two docks,” and the marina is relocated to the southern basin, a change not clearly reported. The statement that the marina was “near the dock in west” also misplaces it. Include a concise overview of the main changes and describe the relocation of the marina and fishing boats accurately to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response groups related changes into paragraphs, moving from the hotel and beach to harbour facilities and then car parks and toilets. This gives it some overall organisation, and time references such as “In 2000” and “now” help signal comparison. However, the progression is not consistently clear: the marina, dock and lifeboat details are difficult to follow because locations and changes are compressed into long sentences. Repeated use of “but now” also makes the linking mechanical. Use a clearer overview paragraph followed by organised comparisons of the northern and southern areas, and use precise references such as “the northern basin” to connect ideas.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “main road,” “car park,” “private beach,” and “cafes and shops,” so the reader can understand the general subject. However, the range is limited and some word choices or collocations are imprecise. For example, “two docks” does not accurately describe the added jetty and boats, while “the hotel people” is informal and unclear. There are also spelling errors such as “Alot,” “acces,” and “toilest,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise location and change vocabulary, and check spelling carefully; this will make the description clearer and more appropriate for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including comparisons between the two plans. However, some sentence structures are faulty or incomplete, which sometimes makes relationships between features unclear. For instance, “The road which led to the life boat area now there are cafes and shops…” combines two clauses without a correct grammatical link. There are also errors in agreement and articles, as in “the car park in north west have acces” and “a Porth Harbour.” Use a consistent present/past contrast and check subject–verb agreement, articles and sentence boundaries. Shorter, accurately formed comparisons would improve control while retaining some complex structures.

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