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 plans illustrate a porth harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall, the porth harbour today is more commercial than in 2000. The plan shows more showers, toilets and shops. Moreover, the harbour today has accommdation with beach access for people to stay.

The disused castle and the public beach on the east south of the harbour have been converted into a hotel with a private beach access. A direct road is now available for the hotel. No changes have been done for the east and north east side of the harbour. On the north side an extra dock has been built to make room for more passenger farries.

Today, the harbours' south side has more cafes and shops next to the lifeboat. Fishing boats and the marian with the private yachts has been switched. On the west south of the porth harbour, the car park has direct road acces to the main road; in addition, showers and toilets have been added, next to it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You provide a relevant overview by noting that the harbour has become more commercial and now includes accommodation and beach access. You also identify several major changes, including the hotel replacing the disused castle, the southern beach becoming private, and fishing boats and the marina switching locations. These points show a sound understanding of the plans. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the extra jetty is described as making room for more passenger ferries, whereas the plan shows two boats at the dock; and the road to the hotel is not clearly identified as a new direct road. The west-side changes and the northern fishing-boat area could also be explained more precisely. Develop these less fully covered features to make the comparison more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a clear overall shape: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing changes around the harbour. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and linking expressions such as “Moreover” and “in addition” help connect points. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is not always easy to follow. For example, the sentence beginning “No changes have been done for the east and north east side” is followed by a dock change, which makes the contrast confusing. The final paragraph also moves between the south side and west side without a clear organising principle. Grouping changes by location or by type, and using more precise references such as “the northern entrance” and “the south-western area,” would make cohesion less mechanical and improve clarity.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some suitable map vocabulary, including “converted,” “direct road,” “private beach,” and “switched,” and the main changes are generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the description less precise. “Accommodation with beach access” is broad where “a hotel with a private beach” would match the plan, while “make room for more passenger ferries” does not accurately describe the boats shown at the dock. There are also noticeable spelling errors in “accommdation,” “farries,” “marian,” and “acces.” Aim for accurate labels and location terms, and check spelling carefully. More precise verbs such as “relocated,” “replaced,” and “added” would help describe the changes clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use a mixture of simple sentences and some more developed structures, such as “Fishing boats and the marian with the private yachts has been switched.” The overall meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors reduce accuracy. In that example, the compound subject requires “have been switched,” and the sentence would be clearer as “The fishing-boat area and the marina have exchanged locations.” “The disused castle and the public beach … have been converted into a hotel” also gives the beach an unclear role in the conversion; separate the two changes into distinct clauses. In addition, “No changes have been done” is an awkward passive construction; use “No changes have been made.” Continue practising accurate agreement and passive forms while varying sentence structures.

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