Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-11-03

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 4.5)

The map plan show a harbour in 2000 and how it looks today.

Overall, the porth harbour became far more developed, with public beach and cafes and shop and several new facilities added.

In 2000, the west side showers and toilets and car park near to the main road. By today car park added one more showers and toilets near the main road. And right side marina (private yachts) and up side fishing boats. While in 2000 marina (private yachts) in up side and fishing boats was down. North in the middle public beach and dick and passenger ferries and in today public beach on the same point.

In the south road near the lifeboat and right sides on the corner castle (disused) right attached the public beach. In today added the cafes and shops attached the life boat and rigt side new for the hotel on the

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the two time periods and give a broad overview that the harbour became more developed, mentioning new facilities. You also report some relevant changes, including the marina and fishing boats changing positions and cafés and shops being added. However, several key details are missing or unclear: the castle is replaced by a hotel, the southern beach becomes private, and the northern dock gains another jetty and boat. The description also ends mid-sentence (“on the”), so the final change is not explained. The response contains 138 words, below the required 150; this limits how fully you can select and report the main features. Aim to cover the major changes accurately and complete the summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, beginning with an introduction and overview before describing locations and changes. Time markers such as “In 2000” and “By today” help signal comparison. However, the body is largely one long sequence of loosely connected details, and the progression between areas is difficult to follow. The repeated use of “and” and the fragment beginning “While in 2000” do not clearly show how the information relates. The final sentence is unfinished, which disrupts the ending. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the main changes, and group details by location or by what changed, using clear links such as “whereas,” “in contrast,” and “additionally.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use several task-relevant terms, including “harbour,” “marina,” “fishing boats,” “lifeboat,” and “public beach,” so the reader can recognise the main map features. However, the range of descriptive language is limited, and some choices or spellings make the account less clear, such as “dick” for “dock,” “rigt,” and “up side.” Phrases such as “right side” and “up side” are imprecise for describing map locations; use compass directions such as “east” and “north” instead. “Cafes and shop” also needs more accurate wording. Build a small set of precise verbs and location phrases for map changes, such as “was relocated to” and “was replaced by,” and check spelling and plural forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to compare the two plans using time references and some longer sentence forms, but sentence control is inconsistent. Errors in basic clauses occur in “The map plan show” and “the west side showers and toilets and car park near to the main road,” where the subject, verb, and sentence structure are not complete or correctly formed. The fragment “While in 2000 marina …” is not joined to a main clause, and the final sentence is incomplete. There is also limited variety in sentence patterns, with many details joined by “and.” Practise complete subject–verb sentences and accurate past and present forms, for example: “In 2000, the marina was in the northern basin, but it has since moved south.”

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