Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-29

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 5.0)

The map plans illustrate a porth harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall, the area underwent significant changes with repalcing fishing boat with marina ( private yatch). Another noticeable changes is addition of cafes and shops and also dock.

Looking at first maps of porth harbour, Public beach are stand on the same place from 2000 to till now.showers and toilets, car park stood at from 2000 to now. It then fishing boat are replacing with marina (private yatchs). Meanwhile, dock are increasing from 1 to 3 in the porth in today.

This is all items are mention in north sides.

Turning to cafes and shops are adding in bank of the sea near to lifeboat which links main road. Private bech are now only operate by hotel. The figure then replacing with hotel with castle also run private beach at the end of the period. By comparision, passenger ferries are on the same spot from 2000 to now. This all links with main road in the west direction.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify several relevant changes, including the relocation of the fishing boats and marina, the addition of cafés and shops, and the conversion of the castle into a hotel with a private beach. The overview also recognises that the harbour has changed substantially. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the dock has an additional jetty and two boats, not “increasing from 1 to 3,” and the public beach in the north-east remains public. The claim that showers and car parks “stood” in the same place overlooks the added south-west facilities. To strengthen the response, report the main changes more precisely and compare the two plans systematically, including the unchanged features as well as the developments.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an identifiable overview followed by paragraphs describing the plans, and phrases such as “Overall,” “Meanwhile,” and “Turning to” show an attempt to guide the reader. However, the progression is not consistently clear: “This is all items are mention in north sides” interrupts the description without explaining how the details relate, while the final paragraph combines the hotel, beach, ferries, and road in a loose sequence. Some linking expressions are also used inaccurately, and references such as “It” and “This all” are unclear. Organise the body by location or by change—for example, northern harbour features first, then the southern shore—and use clear links to show what changed and what remained.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “marina,” “lifeboat,” “passenger ferries,” and “private beach,” which helps identify features of the plans. However, the range is limited and several word choices or spellings make the meaning less clear, such as “repalcing,” “yatch,” “bech,” and “bank of the sea.” Phrases including “dock are increasing” and “operate by hotel” are also unnatural for describing map changes. Aim for accurate collocations and a wider set of verbs for changes, such as “was relocated,” “was converted into,” and “remained unchanged.” Check spelling carefully, especially for labels copied from the map, and avoid repeating “same spot” when “in the same location” is more precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few longer structures, including “It then fishing boat are replacing with marina” and “Private bech are now only operate by hotel,” but these are difficult to follow because verb forms and sentence patterns are often faulty. There are frequent problems with subject–verb agreement (“Public beach are”), articles and plurals (“a porth harbour,” “cafes and shops are adding”), and tense or passive construction (“the figure then replacing with hotel”). Punctuation and spacing also make some sentences run together. Practise building clear past-to-present comparisons with accurate passive forms, for example, “The fishing-boat area was converted into a marina,” and use present simple for features that remain unchanged.

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

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