Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-08
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 plans represent the area of an airport before and after refurbishment another year.
Overall, lots of shops and places are added into the new redevelopment such as Bag drop, ATM, Sky train and Car hire in after year.
Looking in to the figures of two plan, only cafe, check in, walkway and gates were there in before and the upper side of the airport is used only as walking spot. Moreover, departures and arrivals had one gate in now plan.
Turning towards in to the same figures, after refurbishment, departures and arrivals has two gates. Similarly, below the cafe, ATM is added. In the upper side of airport, sky train railways are included. Likewise check in replace with bag drop and cafe with check in and left side of departure has cafe and right side of arrivals has car hire.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
You identify several genuine changes, including the addition of an ATM, sky train and car hire, and note that the airport gains more facilities. However, the overview is vague and some key details are inaccurate: the original plan has gates 1–8, not “one gate,” and the redevelopment expands this to gates 1–18 rather than giving departures and arrivals “two gates.” The description also misstates the relocation of check-in and bag drop; check-in moves to the inner wall, while bag drop is added on the west wall. The response is under the required 150 words, and the limited, partly unclear coverage means the main changes are only partially reported. Select the major structural changes and describe locations precisely.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a basic progression from an overall statement to details about the current and future plans, and linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Moreover” and “Similarly” show an attempt to connect ideas. However, the organisation is not consistently clear: “Looking in to the figures” and “Turning towards in to the same figures” do not guide the reader effectively, while the final sentence combines several unrelated changes. Some links are also inaccurate or repetitive, and references such as “the same figures” are unclear for a map task. Use a clear overview followed by one paragraph on the present layout and one on the redevelopment, grouping changes by area and using straightforward location-based transitions.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “ATM,” “Sky train” and “Car hire,” so the reader can recognise several facilities. However, the range is limited and some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “walking spot,” “upper side of the airport” and “two gates.” “Figures” is also not an appropriate way to refer to the plans, and “lots of shops and places” is too general for an academic summary. Choose precise terms for layout and change, such as “concourse,” “terminal,” “located,” “extended” and “relocated.” Check collocations and use the labels in the plan accurately; this will make the description clearer without requiring more elaborate vocabulary.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt a few longer structures, including “Moreover” and “Similarly” clauses, but most sentences rely on simple patterns, and errors are frequent enough to make some relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “before and after refurbishment another year,” “two plan,” and “departures and arrivals has two gates,” which show problems with articles, plurals and subject–verb agreement. The sentence beginning “Likewise check in replace…” also has unclear structure and verb forms, making the sequence of changes hard to understand. Use accurate present-tense forms for the current plan and future forms for the redevelopment, and build shorter sentences around one change at a time. Proofread agreement, articles and punctuation.
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