Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-21

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 6.5)

The diagram shows how a Porth Harbour area was in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall, there has been an addition of cafes and shops which were absent in 2000. A hotel has been introduced with an amenity of private beach. An extra facility for showers and toilets have also been introduced; additionally, two areas have been replaced with each other to enhance convenience for boating.

In 2000, in the southeast corner, a castle was present which was disused area with a public beach and two public beaches were present in total. There were no facilities for shops and cafes. Only one area for showers and bathrooms were available which was insufficient for public.

However, today the disused castle has been replaced with a hotel and a private beach for the hotel has been maintained in place of public beach. It has been done to improve infrastructure and to boost tourism. Moreover, in the southwest corner, an extra facility for showering and bathing has been introduced. Restaurants and retail focused areas e.g. cafes and shops have been constructed for leisure activities. The areas for fishing boats and marina have been shuffled with each other. The route for car park behind the marina has been changed and it connects with main road, whereas, a special route has been built for the hotel.

Despite of these changes, all the other areas and amenities have remain unchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You give a clear overview of several major changes, including the hotel replacing the disused castle, the addition of cafés and shops, and the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas. These points are grounded in the plans, and you also compare the two periods. However, some details are inaccurate or over-interpreted: the southern beach was public in 2000 and becomes private today, but the north-eastern public beach also remains, so saying there were “two public beaches” in 2000 is not supported by the map. The claim that the car-park route changed and that a special hotel route was built is also not shown. Avoid explanations such as improving tourism unless the map provides evidence; report the visible changes more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph about 2000, and a final paragraph describing today. This gives the reader a generally clear chronological progression. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “Moreover” help signal relationships, and the final sentence attempts to distinguish unchanged features. At times, though, the organisation becomes list-like, and some connections are unclear—for example, “The route for car park behind the marina has been changed” appears without a clear link to the preceding changes. “Despite of these changes” also creates an awkward transition. Group the changes by location or type, and use references such as “the southern beach” and “the northern basin” to make comparisons easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing development, including “introduced,” “replaced,” “constructed,” and “shuffled,” and the main changes are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific phrasing, such as “private beach” and “leisure activities.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for a map report: “amenity of private beach,” “public beach have been maintained in place of,” and “retail focused areas” do not express the changes cleanly. “Shuffled” is informal, while “special route” is vague and unsupported. Prefer precise terms for locations and changes, and avoid adding purpose or evaluation that is not shown in the plans.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including contrast clauses and relative clauses, and most of the message remains understandable. Some grammatical errors persist, however. In “An extra facility for showers and toilets have also been introduced,” the singular subject requires “has”; “Only one area … were available” has the same subject–verb agreement problem. The phrase “a disused area” does not fit the castle, and “Despite of these changes” should be “Despite these changes.” There are also awkward sentence structures, such as “a public beach and two public beaches were present in total,” which makes the intended meaning difficult to parse. Check agreement, articles, and sentence construction, especially when combining several details.

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

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