Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-20

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 maps provided illustrate that how harbour have changed over the years from 2000 to now. The maps show

the different places situated in the harbour.

Overall the major changes include now cafes and shops have been build near lifeboat compared to 2000 where there were no shops near lifeboat, and castle has been also replaced by hotel.

In 2000, marine private yachts were located to the east of main road, nevertheless now these have been replaced by fishing boats and fishing boats in 2000 have been replaced by marine parivate yachts as of now. The other enchancement has been made in fishing boats sector where now three boats carrying the passengers rather than two in 2000.Hotel have been built to the south of private beach in contrast with 2000.The road to the south of main road has a car park in 2000, but now this has been removed and previously in 2000 this road only lead to lifeboat but today it also lead to hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify two important developments: cafés and shops have been added near the lifeboat station, and the disused castle has been replaced by a hotel. You also report the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas, which is a central change. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the dock has two boats today, not “three boats carrying the passengers,” and the car park is not described as being on the southern road. The overview is limited to a few changes and does not clearly summarise the broader transformation, such as the added facilities and the change from a public to a hotel-owned private beach. Select the main changes more accurately and explain their locations to make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic paragraph structure, with an opening, an overview and a paragraph of details, and the reader can follow the general topic. However, progression within the final paragraph is weak: it moves from the marina and fishing boats to the dock, hotel, car park and road without a clear grouping of related changes. Linking words such as “nevertheless,” “in contrast” and “but” are used, but some connections are unclear or do not express the relationship accurately. For example, “Hotel have been built to the south of private beach in contrast with 2000” is difficult to connect to the preceding point. Organise the details by area or type of change, and use clearer referencing and transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “replaced,” “located,” “to the south of” and “near,” which helps communicate the main changes. There is also an attempt to use more formal language, such as “major changes” and “enhancement.” However, the range is limited and several word choices or spellings reduce precision: “marine” is used for “marina,” “parivate” is misspelled, and “enhancement” is not a natural description of a change to the harbour. “Three boats carrying the passengers” also mislabels the boats and their function. Use the exact map labels where possible, and choose precise verbs such as “relocated,” “added” and “converted” to describe changes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a comparison with “whereas” implied through “compared to” and clauses linked by “but” and “where.” However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships difficult to understand. The opening, “illustrate that how harbour have changed,” has an incorrect clause structure and missing article; “castle has been also replaced” has awkward adverb placement; and “Hotel have been built” has subject–verb disagreement. Tense and sentence construction are also inconsistent in “previously in 2000 this road only lead to lifeboat but today it also lead to hotel.” Practise accurate past-versus-present forms and articles, and break long comparisons into controlled sentences.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.