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 plan below illustrates the changes done in the porth harbour in late 2000 till the date.

over all we can limited changes has been done but has more activity to do and an upgrade has also been made and beach changed from public to private for the hotel build.

when the visitors enter the premises from the main road there were two car parkings and single shower and toilet place but in today they built another shower and toilet which makes equal of two things today and they changed the place of Marina private yatchs and fishing boat parkings to different place as in from north to south now and upgraded the dock to two as well.

And they have built new cafes and shops to north side of the road and demolished the castle and built new hotel and have made the beach private which gives only access to the people staying in the hotel

lots of goods upgrades have been done today and lot more facility have been assigned.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several major changes, including the relocation of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of cafés and shops, and the replacement of the disused castle with a hotel. You also note that the southern beach became private, which captures an important change. However, the overview is unclear and partly inaccurate: “limited changes” understates the redevelopment, while “more activity to do” does not clearly summarise the overall transformation. Some details are imprecise, such as saying the dock was upgraded “to two” rather than explaining that it gained an additional jetty and accommodates two boats. Develop the comparison more clearly by grouping the changes to the harbour facilities, shoreline and land use.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic overall sequence: an opening, a general statement, and descriptions of changes. This gives the reader some sense of the comparison. However, the progression is not consistently clear because several changes are packed into long sentences, especially the paragraph beginning “when the visitors enter the premises.” Connections such as “but,” “and,” and “as in” are repetitive or unclear, and the final paragraph repeats the general idea that upgrades were made rather than adding a distinct point. Organise the report into a clear overview followed by grouped details—for example, harbour and access changes, then development on the southern shore—and use precise links such as “Meanwhile” or “In addition.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “main road,” “car parkings,” “dock,” “cafes and shops,” and “private beach.” However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or informal, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. “Fishing boat parkings” does not describe the designated area for fishing boats, and “goods upgrades” is not a natural way to summarise the improvements. “The changes done” and “built new hotel” also show weak collocation or word choice. Aim for precise map-report language such as “facilities,” “was relocated,” “was converted into,” and “the harbour underwent redevelopment.” Check spelling and standard forms, including “harbour,” “yachts,” and “cafés.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, but control is uneven, and errors in agreement, tense, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the relationships between changes unclear. For example, “over all we can limited changes has been done” has problems with the verb phrase and agreement, while “they built another shower and toilet which makes equal of two things today” is difficult to interpret grammatically. The opening phrase “the changes done in the porth harbour” also needs a more accurate structure, such as “the changes made to Porth Harbour.” Use past forms for changes between 2000 and today, and check articles and plural forms. Breaking long sentences into shorter, complete comparisons would improve accuracy and readability.

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

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