Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-25

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 layout compares the Port harbour built in 2000 with Port Harbour present today.Portraying the changes that has happened during the course of time.

Overall,the Port Harbour, has gone through considerable amount of changes, majorly the upgrades has happened around the boating zone.The Private Yachts and Fishing boats zone, got interchanged, while the size of dock has been increased as before it use to have area for 1 ferry, but now it consists of 2 ferries, for feasibility of passengers.The Castle,which was present before has saw the indefinite change because the hotel facilities is available now for everyone. Before the beach was opened for public, but now it has been taken by the Hotel itself.

In 2000, the Marina for the Private Yachts was present in the western side of the Harbour,containing the Fishing boat zone opposite to it.The Showers and Toilets were right close to the Marina Yachts, with the car park close next to it. The dock use to contain the space for only one boat from where the passenger ferries can go simultaneously.Another car park was present close to the Fishing boats area which was providing excessive space for parking. While the castle was present in the bottom of the harbour which was containing the public beach for everyone accesibility. The lifeboat was present where passenger can reach by using roadways right next to it.Having two public beaches made it easier for people to enjoy the harbour during era of 2000.

Today, the former Marina Beach accomodates, major area for dock, which can have 2 ferries, which makes easier for travelling.the fishing boats on the western side of harbour is containing, showers and toilets right next to it, with car park present around them.The Marina Yachts with Showers and toilets also include car park. The Harbour is having hotel in bottom of it, with a private pool used by the people coming in hotel.Close to it having cafes and shops for easy accesbility.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main transformations: the marina and fishing-boat areas switch locations, the castle is replaced by a hotel, and the southern beach becomes private. These are relevant comparisons, and the overview recognises substantial change. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the marina was in the northern basin in 2000, not on the western side, and the dock is described as accommodating ferries, whereas the plans show boats berthed there and passenger ferries nearby. The southern beach is not a pool, and the hotel’s private beach is not stated to be for hotel guests only. You also omit notable changes such as the added cafés and shops and the extra jetty. More precise reporting of locations and a fuller selection of key changes would strengthen the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate descriptions of the earlier and current layouts. This gives the reader a broad chronological route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes difficult to follow because several features are packed into long sentences, and some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “The lifeboat was present where passenger can reach by using roadways right next to it” does not clearly explain the relationship between the lifeboat station and the road. The final paragraph also moves from fishing boats to the marina and then the hotel without consistently signalling their locations. Use shorter, clearly grouped comparisons—such as northern harbour, southern basin, and shoreline—and make references explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of topic vocabulary, including “Marina,” “Fishing boats,” “dock,” “private,” and “cafes and shops,” so the subject is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “considerable amount of changes.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “former Marina Beach” confuses a marina with a beach, “private pool” misidentifies the beach, and “for feasibility of passengers” does not express the intended benefit. Spelling and word-form errors, including “accomodates,” “accesibility,” and “accesbility,” also reduce control. Prefer precise map vocabulary and familiar collocations, for example “the marina was relocated” and “the beach became private.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the overall meaning can usually be followed. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, particularly in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries. Examples include “the changes that has happened,” “the Castle … has saw,” and “the hotel facilities is available”; these should use appropriate agreement and verb forms. Several sentences are fragments or have incomplete constructions, such as “Portraying the changes that has happened…” and “Close to it having cafes and shops…”. Punctuation also makes some sentences run together, as in “today.Portraying” and “travelling.the”. Build complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check tense and agreement in each clause.

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