Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The two maps illustrate how a Porth Harbour of year 2000 looks now after its development.

Overall, the old infrastructure of harbour is now fully develop for fishermans, car parking and spare for leisure activities for people. In contrast, the addition, cafes and hotel provide a convenient place to people.

A similar construction of showers and toilets has next to car park along with a new street attached to main road and abandoned its other entrance . Notably, private yachts is now replaced with space for fishing boats and a new dock area has built right to it.

South-west side block of fishing boats is converted to private yachets. Just its right bottom corner, cafes and shops have been installed next to lifeboat. Apart from that, castle situated at south-east corner of harbour is now replaced with a hotel and has its own private beach now. Additionaly, a curve road is connected with hotel to main road that can access the whole harbour.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify several major changes accurately, including the relocation of the fishing boats and private-yacht marina, the replacement of the castle by a hotel, and the conversion of the southern beach to private use. The overview also recognises the harbour’s shift towards leisure and visitor facilities. This covers the main purpose of the task, with some details more fully reported than others. However, some descriptions are unclear or inaccurate: the “new street” is not shown, and the dock is not described as being built beside the former marina; rather, it gains an additional jetty and a second berthed boat. The changes to the northern beach and the added facilities around the marina could also be reported more precisely. Clearer, map-grounded detail would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable overview followed by descriptions of changes, and phrases such as “Overall,” “In contrast,” and “Apart from that” help signal relationships between points. However, progression is not consistently clear: the first detail paragraph combines showers, a car park, a street, and the dock, while the next begins with “South-west side block” without clearly establishing which map feature is being discussed. Some linking phrases are also used mechanically, and the final sentence introduces a road connection that is difficult to follow. Organise the report by area or by major change, and use clear references such as “In the northern basin” and “In the south” so readers can track each feature.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You attempt a range of task-related vocabulary, including “infrastructure,” “converted,” “replaced,” and “private beach,” and the reader can generally identify the changes you mean. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, such as “fully develop for fishermans,” “spare for leisure activities,” and “a new dock area has built.” “Yachets” is also misspelled, and “street” is not an appropriate label for the road shown. These errors sometimes make the map description difficult to interpret. Use precise map vocabulary—such as “facilities,” “relocated,” “harbour basin,” and “jetty”—and check spelling and natural combinations of words before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use some varied sentence forms, including the contrast in “In contrast” and the relative clause in “castle situated at south-east corner.” However, control is limited: errors in articles, verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “The two maps illustrate how a Porth Harbour of year 2000 looks now” has an awkward article and tense pattern, while “a new dock area has built” lacks the required passive form. The sentence beginning “A similar construction of showers and toilets has next to car park” is also structurally incomplete, and “private yachts is” shows agreement difficulty. Practise accurate past-to-present comparisons and passive forms, then proofread each sentence for a clear subject and verb.

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