Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-24

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 Illustrates layout of a Harbour in 2000 and it looks today.

overall,There is new facilities are introduced for public,cafes and shops ,A hotel to eat food with a private beach included.A passenger ferry is added and showers and toilets also increased to two.

In 2000 , The porth Harbour has a Main road on west side of the port , two roads are connected with main road , one towards Marina (private yachts) which has car parking are for public to park their vehicles with showers and toilets next to it . Going east there are two passenger ferries with a dock between them , right next to Dock area there is a public beach for people . another road on south side connected to main road has a car parking , fishing boats and it leads towards Lifeboat and also on down East-south there is a castle which is disused and a public beach .

Today , The porth Harbour has changed , a new connected road with car parking area with showers and toliets . Marina (private yachts) is Replaced with Fishing boats .New Passenger ferry has been added . The road which directly leads to Lifeboat .Cafes and Shops for public to drink and eat snacks .same road is connected to Hotel which replaced the disused castle and a private beach for the hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the hotel replacing the disused castle, the creation of a hotel beach, and the addition of cafés and shops. Your overview also notes that facilities have increased, which helps summarise the development. However, some key comparisons are unclear or inaccurate: the passenger ferry is not newly added, and the dock has an additional jetty and two boats today. The main relocation is that fishing boats move from the southern basin to the northern one, while the marina moves south; saying the marina is “replaced with Fishing boats” does not explain both changes. The description of the 2000 layout also misplaces the public beach beside the dock. Covering these features more precisely would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for 2000 and today. This gives the reader a basic chronological route through the maps. However, progression within the paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several locations and changes are packed into long sentences, while other points are separated abruptly, as in “The road which directly leads to Lifeboat. Cafes and Shops…”. Linking phrases such as “By contrast,” “In the southern basin,” and “Meanwhile” could clarify how features relate spatially and how they changed. Use clearer sentence boundaries and organise each map description by area or by major change to create a more consistent flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “Main road,” “Marina (private yachts),” “Lifeboat,” and “private beach,” and you attempt to describe change with “replaced” and “increased.” This shows an adequate range for the task. Some choices are imprecise or awkward, however: “new connected road” does not clearly describe the road layout, and “a hotel to eat food” is not an appropriate way to report the hotel’s presence. There are also spelling and form slips, such as “toliets” and “Illustrates.” Aim for concise, map-specific expressions such as “is located,” “is converted into,” and “is relocated to,” and check spelling and collocations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the reader can generally understand the main points. However, errors in sentence construction and agreement recur. For example, “The plans Illustrates” has a subject–verb agreement problem, while “overall,There is new facilities are introduced” combines incompatible structures. The sentence beginning “one towards Marina … which has car parking” also has unclear clause attachment, and “The road which directly leads to Lifeboat” is a fragment. Capitalisation and punctuation are inconsistent, particularly at sentence openings and around commas. Practise building complete sentences with one clear main clause, then add subordinate information carefully; this will improve accuracy without limiting your range.

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.