Cambridge IELTS 19 Test 2 Writing Task 1: Porth Harbour Maps
Cambridge IELTS 19 · Test 2 · Academic Writing Task 1Map / plan
The two maps compare the layout of Porth Harbour in 2000 with its layout today. They show the main road, car parks, toilet facilities, the marina, the fishing boat area, the ferry dock, the lifeboat station, the beaches and the building on the eastern headland.
The question
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task. 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. Write at least 150 words.
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Key features to report
- The overall change is from a working harbour towards a more tourist-oriented one: the disused castle has become a hotel, cafés and shops have been added and the southern beach is no longer public.
- The ferry facilities have been expanded: in 2000 there was a single dock, but today there are two, with a new one built to the west of the original, so more passenger ferries can berth at the same time.
- The marina and the fishing boat area have swapped places: private yachts were moored in the smaller northern basin in 2000, whereas today they occupy the larger southern basin and the fishing boats have moved to the north.
- The disused castle on the eastern headland has been replaced by a hotel, the public beach to its south has become a private beach for the hotel, and the road has been extended to reach the hotel.
- A row of cafés and shops has been built on the waterfront next to the lifeboat station, and a second block of showers and toilets has been added between the two car parks.
- Several features are unchanged: the main road, the two car parks on the western side, the lifeboat station and the public beach to the north-east.
Model overview
Overall, the harbour has been redeveloped with a stronger focus on tourism and leisure, most notably through the conversion of the disused castle into a hotel and the addition of cafés, shops and extra facilities. The ferry dock has also been expanded, and the marina and fishing boat areas have exchanged positions.
Paragraph plan
- 1
Introduction
Paraphrase the task: the maps illustrate how Porth Harbour has changed between 2000 and the present day.
- 2
Overview
Give the main changes without detail: the harbour has become more tourist-oriented, with the castle turned into a hotel and new amenities, the dock has been expanded and the marina and fishing area have swapped places. Mention that the road layout and car parks are largely the same.
- 3
Body paragraph 1: the water and boats
Describe the second dock built west of the original, allowing more passenger ferries to berth, and the swap between the marina (from the northern basin to the larger southern one) and the fishing boats (moved north).
- 4
Body paragraph 2: the land and buildings
Describe the hotel replacing the disused castle, the southern public beach becoming a private beach for the hotel, the road extension to the hotel, the cafés and shops beside the lifeboat station and the extra showers and toilets. Finish with what stayed the same.
Useful comparisons
- Divide the changes by area: changes on the water (dock, marina, fishing boats) and changes on land (hotel, beach, cafés, toilets, road).
- Contrast public and private use: the southern beach was public in 2000 but now belongs to the hotel, and private yachts now have more space than fishing boats.
- Present the redevelopment as a shift from a working harbour to a leisure and tourist destination.
- Use replacement language for the castle and beach, and relocation language for the marina and fishing boats.
- Group the additions together: a second dock, a second toilet block, a row of cafés and shops and a branch road to the hotel.
- Briefly list the features that did not change so the reader understands the scale of the redevelopment.
Band 8+ model answer
208 words · An original model answer written for ieltswrites, not an official answer. It stays in English, as in the exam.
The two maps illustrate how Porth Harbour has changed between 2000 and the present day.
Overall, the harbour has been redeveloped with a stronger focus on tourism and leisure, most notably through the replacement of the castle with a hotel. The ferry facilities have also been expanded, while the areas for private yachts and fishing boats have swapped places.
On the water, the single dock that existed in 2000 has been joined by a second one to its west, so more passenger ferries can berth at once. In 2000, private yachts were moored in the small northern basin and fishing boats in the larger one to the south, but today the marina occupies the southern basin and the fishing fleet has been relocated to the north.
On land, the disused castle on the eastern headland has been replaced by a hotel. The public beach to its south has become a private beach for hotel guests, and the road has been extended to reach the hotel. A row of cafés and shops has also been built beside the lifeboat station, and a second block of showers and toilets has been added between the two car parks. However, the main road, car parks, lifeboat station and northern beach remain unchanged.
Why this answer scores highly
- Task Achievement
- The answer gives a clear overview of the shift towards tourism and the main structural changes, then accurately covers every significant change, including the dock, the swap of the boat areas, the hotel and the private beach, and notes what stayed the same.
- Coherence and Cohesion
- Changes are organised by area, first the water and then the land, and location phrases such as to the west of, on the headland and beside the lifeboat station guide the reader logically around the maps.
- Lexical Resource
- Precise map vocabulary such as converted into, swapped places, berth, waterfront, headland and amenities is used naturally and accurately.
- Grammatical Range and Accuracy
- Present perfect passive forms describe the changes, past simple describes the situation in 2000, and relative clauses and participle phrases add detail without errors.
Useful vocabulary
- redevelop
- change an area by building new things or changing how it is used
- be converted into
- be changed so that it has a different use
- be replaced by
- have something new in the place of the old feature
- swap places with
- move into each other's former positions
- be relocated to
- be moved to a different place
- an additional dock
- a second dock built alongside the existing one
- berth
- a place where a ship can stop and be tied up; also a verb meaning to moor
- moored
- tied up and kept in one place in the water
- waterfront
- the part of a town next to the sea or harbour
- headland
- a narrow piece of land that sticks out into the sea
- amenities
- facilities that make a place pleasant or convenient, such as toilets, cafés and shops
- tourist-oriented
- designed mainly to attract and serve visitors
- remain intact
- stay as before, without being changed or removed
Common mistakes
- Describing the maps in the present tense only; changes from 2000 to today need the present perfect passive, for example has been replaced, has been built.
- Missing the swap between the marina and the fishing boat area, which is easy to overlook because both labels are still on the map.
- Not noticing that the southern beach has changed from public to private, or confusing it with the public beach to the north, which has not changed.
- Saying that the castle was knocked down and a hotel built on a new site, when the hotel stands in the same position on the headland.
- Listing every feature one by one without an overview of the general redevelopment.
- Adding opinions such as the harbour is now better for tourists, which is not information shown on the maps.
Frequently asked questions
- Which Cambridge book is this question from?
- These maps of Porth Harbour in 2000 and today are Writing Task 1 of Test 2 in Cambridge IELTS 19 Academic, published in 2023.
- Which tense should I use for these maps?
- Use the past simple for the harbour in 2000 and the present perfect, often passive, for changes up to today, such as a second dock has been built. The present simple works for things that are the same today.
- Do I need to describe every change?
- Describe all the significant changes, because there are not many, but group them sensibly and do not spend words on minor details such as the exact shape of the road.
- How many words should I write for this Task 1?
- Write at least 150 words; about 170-200 words is enough to include an overview and every key change in about 20 minutes.
Free and timed, with a live word count, just like the computer-delivered test. Then get an instant AI band score.
The exam simulator runs on a computer. Open this page on a laptop or desktop to practise.