Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given two maps illustrate the view of porth harbour how was look in 2000, and how is looks in present day.

Overall,there are not big changes occur in porth harbour except the addition of hotel, shops moreover showers and toilets facility mainly, which have not in the map of harbour of 2000.

The porth Harbour map of 2000, have main road in the west side, in addition to this have two public beach in the north and south end. In the west corner, there are car parking facility and a place for bathing. Mini castle located in the middle of east and south side. One small road exhibit from main road toward the lifeboat area. Place for private and fishing boats are separated. Furthermore, passenger ferries also available on the dock near public beach.

Now, the harbour map looking great. The castle changed with huge hotel for visitors. Made two separate beach for loca and private people on opposite sides of north and south. Also, add one more showers and toilets place in the west side close to main road. One big changing done to construct new dock for futher individuals. All other things are same.

In conclusion, there is addition of new hotel for private citizen and dock for more passengers. Except all of this, to made new showering facility in today map of harbour porth.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify several relevant changes, including the hotel replacing the castle, the addition of cafés and shops, and extra showers and toilets. However, the overview says there are “not big changes,” which understates the substantial reorganisation of the harbour. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: the beaches are not both newly created, as the north-eastern public beach remains, and the dock is not described as new; it gains an additional jetty and a second berthed boat. The response also misses the key exchange of locations between the fishing boats and the marina. To make the summary more complete, give a clear overview of the main transformations and accurately compare the two maps’ most important features.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, descriptions of the two time periods, and a concluding sentence. This gives the reader a coherent overall arrangement. However, progression within the descriptions is sometimes difficult to follow, particularly in the 2000 paragraph, where the west-side facilities, castle, road, boats and ferry dock are presented without a consistent route around the map. Linking phrases such as “in addition to this” and “Furthermore” are used, but some connections feel mechanical or do not clarify relationships. The final “In conclusion” also repeats earlier points rather than adding a useful comparison. Organise details by location or by change, and use clear references to show what moved, remained or was added.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “public beach,” “main road,” “lifeboat,” “dock” and “passenger ferries,” so the reader can identify many map features. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make descriptions unclear, such as “place for bathing,” “Mini castle,” “one big changing” and “further individuals.” There are also spelling and form errors, including “futher” and “loca.” These issues sometimes make it hard to tell precisely what feature or change you mean. Build a more accurate set of map-description terms and use standard labels from the plan, such as “car park,” “marina,” “jetty” and “private beach,” rather than approximate descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer constructions, but control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make the intended meaning difficult to follow. For example, “how was look in 2000” and “how is looks in present day” have faulty verb forms, while “there are not big changes occur” combines incompatible structures. Agreement and articles are also problematic in “The porth Harbour map of 2000, have main road,” and “One small road exhibit.” Sentence boundaries and punctuation need attention too, as in “Overall,there” and the long, loosely connected final paragraph. Practise accurate present and past forms, subject–verb agreement, and complete sentence patterns before adding more complex clauses.

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.