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 map illustrates the information about a harbour and there appearance in 2000 and what changes has been made in the habour and their current appearance.

Overall, it can be seen that there has been slight changes in the harbour and most of the places are at the some location.There has been several things included in the map such as boats, castle, roads,car parks. Moreover many places have been contructed new in the harbour as well.

The roads and car parks are in the same location. However, a new shower and toilet has been installed above the car park in the north-west. The places for marina and fishing boats have also been switched. The fishing boat has been installed on the top north side of the map, while marina constructed on the south side.

Moreover, public beaches,docks and lifeboats are on the same places on the map. The castle on the south-east side has been replaced by a hotel and the beach which was public before has changed to private for the hotel. A big change in the map isthe installments of cafes and shops along the road side as there were no such amenties available in the previous harbour.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify several important changes accurately: the marina and fishing-boat areas have switched, the disused castle has become a hotel, and the southern beach is now private. You also note that the public beach, dock and lifeboat remain. This gives the report a relevant overview and covers the main transformation. However, the overview says there have been only “slight changes,” which understates the redevelopment, and the claim that “most of the places are at the same location” is too broad. Some details are unclear or incomplete: the new facilities and car park near the marina are not described, and the dock’s additional jetty and second berthed boat are omitted. More precise coverage of these features would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes and retained features. This makes the information generally easy to follow, and contrast markers such as “However” and “Moreover” help signal relationships. At times, though, the progression is weakened by broad or unclear references, particularly “most of the places are at the some location” and “the places for marina and fishing boats.” The final paragraph combines several separate map features in a long sequence, while the overview repeats general points rather than clearly grouping the major changes. Organise the body by location or by changed versus unchanged features, and use more precise referencing to improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “replaced,” “switched,” “north-west,” “south-east,” and “private,” which helps communicate the map changes. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or repetitive. For example, “there appearance,” “places for marina,” and “installed” are not natural ways to describe the harbour’s layout; facilities are more appropriately described as being added or built, while locations are described as being situated. Spelling errors such as “habour,” “contructed,” and “amenties” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise set of map-description terms and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “However” and a relative clause in “the beach which was public before.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors occur across sentence structures, agreement, articles and tense. For example, “there appearance” should be “their appearance,” “what changes has been made” has incorrect agreement, and “there has been slight changes” should use a plural verb. The sentence beginning “A big change in the map isthe installments…” also contains a spacing and sentence-construction problem. Practise accurate present-perfect forms for changes and use consistent plural agreement when referring to multiple features.

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