Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-31

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 map illustrate the changes of taken place in Porth Haebour between 2000 and today.

Overall, The Portg Haebour can seen more changed rather than previous, especially built new cafes, shops and car park and hotels for better facilities of tourists.

In 2000, Porth Harbour had Marina for private yarchts, Fishing boats, Lifeboat, Dock. Also had showers and toilets at southern side of the map. Moreover, Castle was located at southern east side for disused.

Today, Porth Harbour became more developed and facilited. In recent map, Fishing boats and Marina transferred to alternative location with each other. Cafes and shops built in near lifeboat. Also more add showers and toilets. The number of dock has also increased. In addition, castles have been replaced with hotel towards southern east side of the map for more accommodation.

In conclusion, Porth Harbour has changes significantly. It gives more facilities and better experience for tourists.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main overall change: the harbour has been developed, with new visitor facilities and a hotel replacing the disused castle. You also correctly report that the marina and fishing-boat areas have exchanged locations, and that cafés and shops have been added near the lifeboat. However, several important details are missing or unclear. For example, the southern beach becomes private, the public beach remains in the north-east, and the dock gains an additional jetty and a second berthed boat; saying only that “the number of dock has also increased” does not accurately describe this. The overview is relevant but general, and some details, such as the showers’ location in 2000, are inaccurate. Select and report the key changes more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear basic structure: an introduction, an overview, a paragraph about 2000, a paragraph about today, and a conclusion. This makes the comparison easy to follow, and phrases such as “In 2000” and “Today” help signal the time periods. However, the conclusion repeats the overview rather than adding useful comparison, and some linking is mechanical, particularly the repeated use of “Also” and “In addition.” The sentence listing the original harbour features is a fragment, which interrupts the flow. Grouping related changes—for example, relocated water uses, new visitor facilities, and changes to the beach and castle—would create a more developed progression and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant topic vocabulary, including “Marina,” “Fishing boats,” “Lifeboat,” “Dock,” and “replaced,” so the reader can understand the general subject. There are also attempts at more descriptive language, such as “transferred to alternative location.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable: “Haebour,” “Portg,” “yarchts,” and “facilited” reduce accuracy, while “better experience for tourists” is vague and evaluative rather than a precise description of the map. Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “more add showers and toilets” and “the number of dock.” Use accurate map vocabulary and collocations, such as “an additional set of facilities” or “a second jetty,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a few different sentence patterns, including a comparison with “while” implied by the exchange of locations and a passive construction in “castles have been replaced with hotel.” However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some sentences awkward or incomplete. For example, “The map illustrate” has subject–verb disagreement, “can seen more changed” is missing grammatical elements, and “Also had showers and toilets” is a sentence fragment. Articles and plurals are also inconsistent in “Marina for private yachts” and “the number of dock.” Practise forming complete sentences with accurate subjects and verbs, and use passive forms consistently when describing changes, such as “The castle was replaced by a hotel.”

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