Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The plans below show the site of an airport now and how it will look after redevelopment next year.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

SOUTHWEST AIRPORT

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The map below gives a comparison of the site of an airport now and how it will look after redevelopment next year.

Overall, now the site of an airport has 8 gates with walkway compared to after development it will have 18 gates with the sky train. Also , there is no shops in but after the development it will be .

Looking at the airport now , at the department of the arrivals , there is nothing but passport control customs, and for the departures there is security passport control ans also a café and check in , and the traveles they have to walkaway to get to the 8 gates . Turning to the plan of the airport after development , There will be two doors for the arrivals and the departures , for the arrivals there will be a parking , café , ATM and passpor control customs , though they have not to walk to get to the gates because there is a sky train that the departures also can use it . Compared to the department of departures there will be a bag drop , check in , a café ,and the security passport control and shops upstairs .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change in capacity, from 8 gates to 18, and note the new sky train and shops, giving the reader a basic overview. You also compare several facilities in the two plans. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the future plan adds car hire, not parking, and the sky train is described as serving departures rather than as a transport link along the concourse. The statement that arrivals has “nothing but” passport control and customs overlooks its entrance, while the future arrivals facilities are not described precisely. To strengthen the response, report the major structural change—the concourse becoming Y-shaped—and distinguish clearly between what is added, moved, or retained.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs comparing the current and future layouts. Phrases such as “Overall,” “Looking at,” and “Turning to” help signal movement between sections. However, progression within the description is not always clear, and several details are crowded into long sentences joined mainly by “and” or “also.” The contrast between the two plans could be easier to follow if you grouped information by area—for example, first the concourse and gates, then departures, then arrivals. Some references are also unclear, as in “the departures also can use it,” where “it” does not precisely identify the sky train’s route or function.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “gates,” “walkway,” “sky train,” “passport control,” “bag drop,” and “check in,” so the reader can identify many facilities. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, which sometimes makes the layout difficult to understand. “Department of the arrivals” appears to mean the arrivals area, while “parking” mislabels the car-hire facility. “Walkaway” is not the appropriate term for the route, and “upstairs” is unsupported by the plan. Spelling errors such as “ans,” “traveles,” and “passpor” also reduce precision. Use consistent map terms such as “area,” “concourse,” “located,” and “adjacent to,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a comparison with “compared to” and a contrast introduced by “though.” However, errors occur frequently, and some sentence structures make relationships between facilities unclear. For example, “there is no shops in but after the development it will be” has incorrect agreement and an incomplete ending; “there will be two doors for the arrivals and the departures” is not a clear grammatical description of the plan; and “the departures also can use it” has awkward word order and an unclear pronoun. There are also inconsistent verb forms and punctuation, including unnecessary spaces before commas and capitalisation after commas. Build shorter, complete sentences first, then add controlled clauses.

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