Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-02

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 diagrams illustrates the plan of harbour in 2000 and today apperance.

Overall, in 2000 porth Harbour has the limited places like public beach in north, toilets and parking area along with road with marina in west, in south another parking after the parking fishing boats area in middle passenger ferries, in east south there wasa castle and public beach in the south.

Today's plan for Porth has slightly change public beach is locate in front with ferries and older place for private beach, cafes and shops are in the middle wit life boat area, showers and toilets is twice with parking, fishing boats and marina swap and castle is demolished and build the hotel.

Finaly, the older plan has limited places for entertainment and fun in the new plan there are many places for entertainment like cafes, shops and a hotel are changed in the porth of Harbour.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two time periods and report several important changes, including the relocation of the marina and fishing boats, the addition of cafés and shops, and the replacement of the castle by a hotel. However, the overview is not consistently accurate: the public beach is in the north-east in both plans, not “in the south” in 2000, and the southern beach becomes private rather than being an “older place for private beach.” Some locations are also unclear, such as saying the marina is “in west.” The response covers the main transformation, but several details are under-developed or imprecise. To strengthen it, give a clear overview of the major changes and describe the harbour’s north, south and east features accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview of the earlier plan, a paragraph on today’s layout, and a concluding comparison. This gives the reader a basic progression through the two maps. However, the long, comma-linked sentences make relationships between features difficult to follow, particularly in the first overview. Connectors such as “in south,” “in east,” and “Finaly” are used mechanically or do not clearly signal how details relate. The conclusion also repeats the general idea that the newer harbour has more facilities rather than adding a useful comparison. Use shorter, clearly grouped sentences—for example, describe northern changes together and then the southern area—and use precise referencing to guide the reader.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “public beach,” “fishing boats,” “marina,” “cafes and shops,” and “hotel,” so the reader can identify many of the features. However, the range of descriptive language is limited, and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate or unclear: “limited places,” “in front,” “older place for private beach,” and “changed in the porth of Harbour” do not express the intended spatial changes precisely. Spelling and word-form errors such as “apperance,” “Finaly,” and “wasa” also reduce accuracy. Build a more precise set of verbs for map changes, such as “relocated,” “replaced,” and “converted,” and check spelling and natural combinations before submitting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the time comparison is generally understandable. However, control is inconsistent, especially in longer constructions. For example, “The given diagrams illustrates” has subject–verb disagreement, while “Today's plan for Porth has slightly change” uses an incorrect verb form. Articles and sentence structure are also problematic in “the plan of harbour” and the comma-linked sequence beginning “in south another parking.” These errors sometimes make the relationships between features difficult to interpret. Practise accurate present and past forms for describing maps, and build sentences around one clear main clause, adding comparisons with controlled conjunctions. Check agreement, articles and punctuation during revision.

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