Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given diagrams demonsrate a porth harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall, the area remained largely unchanged apart from a few minor developments. THe most notable feature is that castle is replaced by hotel and public beach is transformed into private beach.

In general, in 2000 porth harbour contained a marina, a car park and showers and toilets in the north-western side . Along a public beach, an area for dock and passenger ferries to the top-right corner were situated. There was a road which leads to a lifeboat and disused castle . Additionally, a public beach was available to the bottom-right corner and an extra car park and fishing boats area were located in the western side.

Comparatively, the harbour today has the hotel and private beach on the east-southern part. There is a road which now moved to lifeboat and cafe and shops have been located beside it. On the left side there have been located a car park, a marina and room for showers. Furthermore, to the top-left corner marina has been replaced by fishing boats and in the vicinity showers room and car park have been constructed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two main changes—the disused castle becoming a hotel and the southern public beach becoming private—and mention the relocation of the marina and fishing boats. However, the overview that the harbour “remained largely unchanged” understates the extent of redevelopment, including new cafés and shops, additional showers and toilets, and changes to the dock. Some locations are also unclear or inaccurate: the marina was in the northern basin in 2000, not simply on the north-western side, and the road did not move in the present-day plan. The description of the dock and passenger ferries as being in the “top-right corner” is imprecise. To strengthen the response, give a more accurate overview and compare the key changes systematically.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the earlier and current layouts. This makes the comparison reasonably easy to follow, and transitions such as “Overall,” “Additionally,” and “Comparatively” help signal relationships. However, the progression within the body paragraphs is sometimes difficult to track because several features are grouped together without a consistent route around the harbour. Phrases such as “Along a public beach” and “On the left side” do not make the locations or connections between features clear. Organise each period in a consistent spatial order, and use precise references such as “in the northern basin” or “south of the road” to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “replaced,” “located,” “north-western,” and “vicinity,” and these choices help communicate the main developments. However, the range is limited by repeated general terms such as “area,” “side,” and “located,” while some combinations are unnatural or imprecise, for example “room for showers” and “an area for dock.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “demonsrate” and “cafe” where the map shows “cafés & shops.” Aim for more precise location and change vocabulary, and check spelling carefully. Using terms such as “basin,” “relocated,” and “adjacent to” would make the description more concise and map-specific.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and longer sentences, and the overall meaning is generally recoverable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, particularly in articles, verb forms, and sentence construction. For example, “castle is replaced by hotel” needs articles, while “There was a road which leads” shifts tense within the sentence. The construction “On the left side there have been located a car park” is also awkward and has an agreement problem; a clearer form would be “A car park, marina and showers are located on the left.” Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, as in “THe” and the spaces before full stops. Practise accurate past-versus-present descriptions and straightforward location sentences before adding longer clauses.

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