Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-30

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 plan ilustrates the port harbour in year 2000 and the changes in harbour layout today.Overall, the harbour has been improved and developed since year 2000 until today. In year 2000 in the south of the main was showers and toilets and near it marina with private yachts, the car park beside the main road, on the other side is fishing boat and car park, in the right direcation is road lead to life beach and public beach in the bottom of harbour porth, the castle located in the corner. In the east side of the harbour is another public beach with dock, in the middle is passenger ferries.

The layout for porth harbour today compared to year 2000, has been exchanges the fishing boats and marina private yachts areas, they added another showers and toilets in both sides, the castle has been removed building hotel instead of under the privale beach is create road for the hotel, they added another facilities near the road is cafe and shops, These are the changes and improvement in Porth harbour today compared to year 2000.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two time periods and give a general overview that the harbour was developed, then mention several relevant changes, including the relocation of the marina and fishing boats and the replacement of the castle with a hotel. However, the description of the 2000 plan is often unclear or inaccurate: for example, “in the south of the main was showers and toilets” does not clearly locate these facilities, and the public beach south of the road is described as being at the “bottom” without distinguishing it from the north-eastern beach. The comparison also omits important changes such as the additional jetty and the hotel’s private beach. To strengthen the response, select the main transformations and describe their locations precisely, rather than listing features in a confusing sequence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: it introduces the maps, gives an overview, describes the earlier layout, and then turns to the present-day changes. This gives the reader some sense of progression. However, the first main description combines many locations in one long sentence, making relationships difficult to follow; for instance, “in the right direcation is road lead to life beach and public beach” is hard to interpret. The final paragraph also repeats the comparison with “compared to year 2000” and ends with a general summary rather than a clear sequence of changes. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and each map, and group features by area or by major transformation. Clearer linking and reference would make the organisation more effective.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “marina,” “fishing boats,” “castle,” and “facilities,” so the topic is generally recognisable. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear. “Life beach” appears to be an inaccurate label, while “the main” and “in the right direcation” do not identify the locations precisely. There are also spelling errors such as “ilustrates,” “direcation,” and “privale,” and the phrase “has been exchanges” is not an appropriate way to describe the changes. Build a more precise set of location and change terms, such as “to the south of,” “was relocated,” and “was replaced by,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to connect ideas in longer sentences, but the range of sentence structures is limited and these attempts often contain errors that make the relationships between features difficult to understand. For example, “in the south of the main was showers and toilets” lacks a clear grammatical subject and verb pattern, and “the castle has been removed building hotel instead” does not form a complete, accurate clause. Tense and agreement are also inconsistent in phrases such as “they added another showers” and “has been exchanges.” Use straightforward complete sentences first, with a clear subject and verb, and practise accurate past and present passive forms for map changes, such as “The castle was replaced by a hotel.”

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