Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The two maps illustrate the changes that have taken place in the harbour between 2000 and present day.

Overall, the harbour has undergone considerable redevelopments, with several new facilities for the visitors and tourists. Some sector of the harbour remained same but other areas have been modernized to make the site more accessible and attractive.

In 2000, the harbour was looked simple. However, there was few facilities for visitor and tourists. For instance, showers, car parking and marina (private yachts) was located on the West side of the harbour. Public beach was on the North side of the harbour.

At present day, the site has been transferred into more developed and visitor friendly destination. Several new facilities have been added, providing more opportunities for leisure and recreation. However, new cafes and shops have been added near to the lifeboat. Whereas dock has been doubled but other areas remained same. New hotel has been replaced the castle(disused). The harbour has undergone considerable changes in present day.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You provide an overview that identifies substantial redevelopment and distinguish between facilities that changed and those that remained. You also report several relevant details, including the new cafés and shops, the hotel replacing the disused castle, and the beach becoming private. However, some key changes are missing or unclear: the marina and fishing-boat areas have exchanged locations, and the dock has gained an additional jetty and now accommodates two boats. The statement that the public beach was on the north side is imprecise; it is at the north-east, and it remains public today. The claim that “other areas remained same” is too broad without specifying what stayed unchanged. Select and compare the main spatial changes more precisely to develop the report more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by a paragraph about 2000 and one about the present. This gives the reader a basic chronological progression, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “However,” and “For instance” help signal relationships. At times, though, cohesion is mechanical or the connection between ideas is unclear. In the final paragraph, “However” and “Whereas” do not establish clear contrasts, and “the dock has been doubled” is not linked to a precise explanation of what changed. The repeated general statements about development also make the ending feel repetitive. Grouping changes by location or by type, and using clearer references between old and new features, would make the progression more cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of topic vocabulary, including “harbour,” “facilities,” “leisure and recreation,” “lifeboat,” and “disused.” These choices make the general subject clear, and you attempt more descriptive language such as “visitor friendly destination.” Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise, however: “considerable redevelopments” is less natural than a singular form, “the harbour was looked simple” does not express the intended meaning idiomatically, and “the dock has been doubled” is unclear. “Transferred into” is also not the best way to describe the harbour’s redevelopment. Aim for precise map vocabulary such as “relocated,” “replaced,” “expanded,” and “remained unchanged,” ensuring that each term accurately describes the feature.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex sentences, including “Some sector of the harbour remained same but other areas have been modernized” and the contrast introduced by “However.” The main ideas are generally understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Examples include “there was few facilities” (subject–verb agreement), “marina … was located” (agreement with the plural facilities/list), and “New hotel has been replaced the castle” (article and verb construction). Articles and plurals are also missing in phrases such as “for visitor and tourists” and “near to the lifeboat.” The sentence beginning “Whereas dock…” is a fragment. Review agreement, articles, and complete clause structure, and use past and present forms consistently when comparing the two maps.

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

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