Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
Two plans illustrate the transformation of the harbour today and in 2000.
In essence, The plan of Porth Harbour, underwent the change, over the period. Whereas, plan today represents the great advancements.
On the one hand, The placement of the main features of both plans are same. While few transformation could be seen on plan today included, in north Marina private yatch changes into fishing boats. Moreover, two docks were placed instead of one. In the west side, plan today shows two places for the car parking.
Moreover, On the south side of the plan today, the castle disused turned into hotel. Furthermore, the public beach turned into private beach. In extreme south of plan today, the area in water has been allotted for hotel. In addition, everything is same in south side of both plans. However, changes are not pretty major but addition of cafe and shops in today’s plan depicts minor change.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You identify several relevant changes, including the marina being replaced by fishing boats in the northern basin, the castle becoming a hotel, and the southern beach becoming private. However, the overview is vague: “great advancements” does not clearly summarise the main pattern of redevelopment, and the response does not consistently compare the two plans. Some details are inaccurate or unclear. There is one dock in each plan, although the present-day dock has an additional jetty, so “two docks” misreports the map. The claim that the water area in the extreme south is allotted to the hotel is also unsupported. To strengthen the response, describe the main relocations and additions precisely, including the marina’s move south and the new cafés and shops.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a basic paragraph structure, moving from an introduction to a general statement and then to changes in different areas. Linking expressions such as “Moreover,” “Furthermore,” and “However” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, progression is not consistently clear: “On the one hand” is not followed by a contrasting “on the other hand,” and several transitions are repetitive or do not express the relationship between the points. The sentence “In addition, everything is same in south side” also conflicts with the changes just described, making the organisation harder to follow. Group the information by location or by type of change, and use fewer, more accurate connectors to guide the reader.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “harbour,” “marina,” “fishing boats,” “private beach,” and “car parking,” so the reader can recognise the subject and several features. The range is limited, however, and some word choices are imprecise or unnatural. “Great advancements” is too evaluative for a neutral map description, while “two docks” does not accurately name the change shown. “The placement of the main features … are same” and “the area in water” also show difficulty expressing spatial relationships naturally. Check spelling and form in “yatch,” and use precise map language such as “relocated,” “replaced by,” and “adjacent to” to report changes more clearly.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
There are attempts to use complex structures, for example “Whereas, plan today represents…” and “However, changes are not pretty major but…,” but these constructions are often incomplete or incorrectly punctuated. Errors occur frequently in sentence structure, articles, agreement, and verb forms: “The placement … are same” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the castle disused turned into hotel” lacks the grammatical structure needed to express the change. Capitalisation after commas is also inconsistent, as in “Whereas, The plan.” These problems sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. Practise writing clear comparison sentences with accurate past-to-present forms, such as “The disused castle was replaced by a hotel,” and check each sentence for a complete clause.
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