Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-19

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 5.0)

The diagram illustrates a harbour that was looks in 2000 and what are the feautures are aded in today.

Overall, there are some facilties added in today Harbour. Some given facilites are changed that was given.

In 2000, the harbour looked old. There was two car park shown in the west corner. Marina private yachts and fishing boats was located in front of each others. there was just one dock for passenger ferries and public beach located next to the dock. On the south corner, one more public beach is located. The lifeboat is located in the center of the harbour and castle disused is located in the south-east corner.

At present, there are some new facilities are added. One more dock is added in the north side.

Shower and toilets are added in the west side. Fishing and boats are changed from the places. One more facility, cafes and shops are added in the left side of the lifeboats. A hotel is replaced as castle disused that is located in the south-east corner.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several important changes, including the replacement of the disused castle by a hotel and the relocation of the fishing boats and marina. You also provide an overview that facilities have been added or changed. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the northern dock is not simply a new dock, but has an additional jetty and two boats; the public beach remains in the north-east, rather than being described as next to the dock; and the southern beach becomes private. The description of the marina and fishing boats as being “in front of each others” does not clearly explain their original locations. To develop the response further, compare the two plans more precisely and include the changed status of the southern beach and the added cafés and shops.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic, useful structure: an introduction, a brief overview, and separate paragraphs for 2000 and today. This makes the broad time sequence easy to follow. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited, and several details are presented as a list rather than being grouped by location or type of change. Linking is also repetitive, particularly through repeated use of “there was” and “are added.” Some references are unclear, such as “One more facility” and “the places,” so readers must infer what is being compared. Organise the information into clearer groups—for example, changes to the harbour basin and changes to the southern shore—and use precise references such as “the marina” or “the southern beach” to strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “harbour,” “marina,” “passenger ferries,” “lifeboat,” and “south-east corner,” which helps convey the map’s subject and locations. However, the range is limited and several phrases are imprecise or awkward, such as “facilities added in today,” “in front of each others,” and “changed from the places.” Spelling errors such as “feautures,” “facilties,” and “cafes” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise map-description language and accurate collocations: for example, say that facilities “were added,” and that the marina and fishing-boat area “switched locations.” This would make the description clearer without requiring unnecessarily advanced vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the reader can generally identify the main topic of each paragraph. However, control of basic sentence forms is inconsistent. Examples include “a harbour that was looks,” “there are some new facilities are added,” and “There was two car park,” which show problems with verb forms, sentence construction, and subject–verb agreement. Tense also shifts between past and present when describing the plans, and some articles and plurals are missing or incorrect. These errors sometimes make relationships between features difficult to understand. Practise using a consistent past tense for 2000 and present tense for today, and build accurate comparison patterns such as “The marina was located…, whereas today it is…”.

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

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