Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The pictures compare the developments made in porth harbour by today from the year of 2000.

On the whole, greater number of developments abserved in the main castle area which was abondoned previously and some other reforms also made around it. Some additional showers and restrooms also added besides the car park areas.

Initially in the year of 2000, there was only a single toilet and shower area near the one car parking area which was connected to the main road in the north west side.Near to it there was a private yachts area named Mriana. Besides it there was fishing boat are in the water.Another path that connect the life boat area to the main road also located and there was no roads available to reach to the castle.

However, in the rescent times, some more toilets and showers are developed along the side of both car parkings.Furthermore, Mriana private yachts replaces the location with fishing boats in the harbour.In addition to that, the road connecting the life boat section to the main road splits and connects the hotel which opened in previous abondened castle.The hotel has a beach reserved for hotle only which was previously public spot.Cafes and other shops also developed near the life boat section..

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify several important changes, including the former castle becoming a hotel, the beach becoming private, the marina and fishing-boat areas switching locations, and cafés and shops being added near the lifeboat station. Your overview also recognises that the harbour has been developed. However, some key details are missing or unclear: the northern public beach remains, the dock gains an additional jetty and a second berthed boat, and the fishing boats move to the northern dock basin. The statement that there was “no roads available to reach to the castle” is not supported by the plan, which shows a road running towards the castle area. Covering these features more accurately and distinguishing the road from the path would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the harbour in 2000 and today. Time markers such as “Initially” and “However” help signal the comparison, and the main changes can generally be followed. Some connections are less clear, though. For example, “Besides it” does not make the relationship between the marina and fishing-boat area precise, while “the road … splits and connects the hotel” makes the sequence of changes difficult to visualise. The overview also groups several developments together without clearly prioritising them. Use clearer location-based sequencing—north, south, and around the road—and refer explicitly to what changed from one plan to the other.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “harbour,” “car parking,” “private yachts,” “fishing boat,” and “reserved,” and you attempt to describe change with phrases such as “replaces the location” and “developed.” However, several word choices and spelling errors reduce precision, including “abserved,” “abondoned,” “Mriana,” and “hotle.” Some expressions are also unnatural or vague: “greater number of developments abserved in the main castle area” and “the road … splits and connects the hotel” do not clearly describe the plan. Choose accurate map terms and collocations, such as “the marina was relocated” and “the castle was replaced by a hotel.” Proofreading spelling and avoiding vague phrases would make the description clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “However” and a relative clause in “the road connecting the life boat section to the main road.” Meaning is usually recoverable, but errors in sentence structure and grammatical forms are noticeable. For example, “greater number of developments …” needs an article, and “some additional showers and restrooms also added” is missing a passive verb (“were added”). In “there was fishing boat are in the water,” the subject and verb do not agree. There are also problems with articles, plurals, and punctuation, such as “in the north west side.Near to it.” Practise accurate passive constructions and check each sentence for a complete subject and verb.

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