Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-01

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 given maps illustrate the changes that took place in harbour.

Overall, it is clear that the harbour changed considerably. Most of the previous facilities have be replaced by new developments, while only a few facilities, such as a cafes and shops. have been added. Meanwhile, the main road, public beach, passenger ferries and dock remained unchanged.

Looking first at the layout before the development, there was a public beach, dock and passenger ferries on the north-eastern side of the harbour. The main road is on the western side and place for showers and toilets, car park and marina (private yacht) is on the north-western side. There was public beach and castle that is on south-eastern part of the map. The lifeboat can be found in the middle of the harbour and fishing boat is on the south-western part. There is another car park in the road that leads to lifeboat.

Turning to the layout after the development, the area of dock, passenger ferries, public beach and main road remained unchanged. The new cafes and shops introduced in the middle of the harbour near lifeboat. The place for marina and fishing boats have been exchanged. The castle and public beach were replaced with hotel and private beach.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the broad transformation and include several relevant comparisons, especially the exchange of the marina and fishing-boat areas and the replacement of the castle and southern public beach by a hotel and private beach. The overview also notes that the main road and northern public beach remain. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the dock and passenger-ferry area is not simply unchanged, as an additional jetty and a second berthed boat appear today. The lifeboat is on a pier along the harbour’s southern edge, rather than “in the middle,” and the second car park is beside the road, not “in the road.” The overview also overlooks the added facilities and changes to the showers and car parks. More precise coverage of these features would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs for the earlier and current layouts. Phrases such as “Looking first” and “Turning to” help signal the shift between time periods, and the main comparisons are generally easy to follow. This coherent arrangement is a strength. However, some details are grouped in a way that makes their locations difficult to track, particularly the opening description of the northern facilities and the statement that the lifeboat is “in the middle.” The overview’s sentence about facilities being replaced and new ones added is also awkwardly connected. To strengthen progression, organise each body paragraph by area or by changes versus unchanged features, and use clearer references to the north, south, and harbour edges.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of task-related vocabulary, including “harbour,” “facilities,” “development,” “remained unchanged,” and “exchanged,” so the reader can understand the main changes. There are also attempts to describe location and comparison rather than simply list labels. Some word choices and collocations are imprecise, however: “place for showers and toilets” is less natural than “showers and toilets,” while “car park in the road” gives the wrong relationship. “The area of dock” and “the place for marina” are vague, and “a cafes and shops” contains an inaccurate form. Aim to use the map’s labels directly and choose precise location phrases such as “beside,” “along,” and “in the northern basin.” This would improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including the overview contrast “while only a few facilities…” and the comparison that the marina and fishing-boat areas “have been exchanged.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but some errors in agreement, articles, tense, and sentence construction remain. For example, “Most of the previous facilities have be replaced” needs a correct passive form, and “the main road is on the western side and place…” lacks a grammatical subject and consistent tense. In “There was public beach and castle that is…,” article use and tense agreement are also problematic. Punctuation in the overview sentence about cafés and shops interrupts the sentence. Check subject–verb agreement, articles before singular countable nouns, and consistent past-tense descriptions of the 2000 map.

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