Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

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

Overall, it is clear that harbour has been changed over the years. New showers and toilets, cafes and shops, new dock and new road had been added, while lifeboat, main road, passenger ferries and car park stayed the same.

In the past, there was a single showers and toilets, fishing boats, marina private yachts, two car park, one directly connected to main road and another at southwest corner. At present, new showers and toilets have been added to the southwest corner, and the fishing boats and private marina yachts have swapped locations. There was a single dock in the norther side of the harbour, but in present another dock serving passenger ferries has been added and public beach remains the same.

Furthermore, in the past there was a castle in the southeast corner along with public beach. At present, castle has been changed to hotel and public beach is now private beach for the hotel guests. In the southern side of the map there was a lifeboat and a road connected to lifeboat but now cafes and shops has been added near road and new road has been added which connect hotel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation clearly: the marina and fishing-boat areas exchange positions, the disused castle becomes a hotel, and the southern beach becomes private. The overview also recognises that some facilities remain, and the response covers both time periods. This meets the task well, with several key changes selected and compared. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the plans show an additional jetty at the existing northern dock, not a new dock, and no new road is added. The lifeboat and main road remain, but the passenger-ferry area is not described as unchanged. To strengthen the report further, distinguish the two car parks and explain the added facilities and dock changes more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes. Time markers such as “In the past” and “At present” help readers follow the comparison, while “Furthermore” signals a shift to the southern and south-eastern features. However, some links between ideas are abrupt, and the final paragraph combines several locations and changes in a way that makes the sequence less clear. For example, the sentence about the lifeboat, road, cafés and a “new road” moves between features without a precise spatial relationship. Grouping northern harbour changes together and southern changes together, then using clear references such as “the northern dock” and “the southern beach,” would make progression more controlled.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “southwest corner,” “swapped locations,” and “southeast corner,” and the meaning is generally clear. There are also useful attempts to describe change, such as “has been changed to hotel.” However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise: “new dock” mislabels an additional jetty at the existing dock, and “new road” suggests a feature that is not shown. Phrases such as “marina private yachts” and “single showers and toilets” are also awkward. Aim for more exact map terminology and natural combinations, for example “the marina for private yachts” and “an additional jetty.” This greater precision would make the description more flexible and accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex forms, including the contrast in “At present … have been added” and the relative clause “one directly connected to main road.” The overall meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Articles and agreement are problematic in phrases such as “harbour has been changed,” “a single showers and toilets,” and “cafes and shops has been added.” Tense and sentence construction also need attention: “There was a single dock … but in present another dock … has been added” is awkward and does not accurately express the change. Practise using consistent past and present forms, plural agreement, and articles—for example, “The harbour has changed” and “A new block of showers and toilets has been added.”

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