Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The maps illustrates the changes that took place in Porth Harbour between 2000 and 2026.

Overall, the harbour underwent significant redevelopment, with additional facilities being introduced for visitors. In addition, several existing features were relocated, and the disused castle was replaced by a hotel.

In 2000, the western side of the harbour contained a car park, showers and toilets and a marina for private yachts. Another car park was situated further south, next to an area designed for fishing boats. A road along ran along the southern side of the harbour , where a lifeboat station was located. In the eastern part, there were facilities for passenger ferries and a dock, while a public beach was situated in the southern part of the harbour. In the south eastern part of the harbour there was a castle.

Today, the harbour has several additional amenities. A new car park and another set of showers and toilets have added to western side. Whereas, fishing boats has replaced with marina private yachts in the southern part. A public beach has been made a private beach in the southern part and lastly, the castle in the south eastern part has been replaced with a hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You provide a relevant overview, identifying redevelopment, new visitor facilities and the castle’s replacement by a hotel. You also report several key changes, including the marina and fishing boats changing locations and the southern beach becoming private. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the public beach in the south is not shown in 2000; it is the beach on the north-east coast that remains public. The dock and passenger-ferry area is also described vaguely, and the new cafés and shops and additional jetty are omitted. The account of the present-day layout is therefore less complete than the overview. To strengthen the response, compare the northern and southern water areas precisely and include the main additions as well as the changes to the beaches.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the earlier and current layouts. This makes the main stages easy to follow, and phrases such as “In 2000” and “Today” help signal the time comparison. However, the final paragraph lists changes without consistently explaining where they occur or how they relate to the earlier layout. “Whereas” is also used awkwardly at the start of a sentence, and “and lastly” creates a mechanical list-like transition. Some details in the 2000 paragraph are grouped in a way that makes their locations difficult to follow. Use clearer spatial links—such as “to the north,” “south of the road,” and “in the north-eastern corner”—and connect each present-day change directly to its former position.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for describing a harbour map, including “redevelopment,” “relocated,” “facilities,” and “replaced.” These choices communicate the general changes, and the topic-specific terms are mostly appropriate. Some wording is imprecise or collocationally awkward, however: “an area designed for fishing boats” is less natural than “an area used by fishing boats,” while “a public beach has been made a private beach” does not clearly express the change in status. “Additional amenities” is suitable, but the response could use more precise verbs such as “added,” “converted,” or “remained” to distinguish new features from unchanged ones. Aim for accurate location vocabulary and avoid repeating broad terms such as “part” when a compass direction would be clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the clause “where a lifeboat station was located.” Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems remain. For example, “A new car park and another set of showers and toilets have added” needs a passive form (“have been added”), and “fishing boats has replaced with marina” has errors in both agreement and verb construction. The phrase “A road along ran along” repeats the verb, while extra spaces before commas and inconsistent comma placement affect accuracy. Check subject–verb agreement, use passive forms when describing changes to facilities, and proofread each sentence for duplicated words and punctuation.

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