Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-07

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 6.5)

The diagrams illustrate the visual representation of an airport at present and it's redeveloped plan the following year.

Overall, the airport is going to have a massive expansion with increased boarding gates with more services added inside the departures and arrival sections.

The airport has 8 gates at the moment joined with a walkway. In contrast, the new development is going to have doubled gates (18) replacing the walkway with a skytrain. The travellers will be able to shop anything they want after checking in as there will be shops opening in the following year.

There would not be much changes made to the security, passport control and customs in both the years. But there will be lots of amenities added in the future plan, including bag drop area in the departure hall. The cafe there will also be relocated on the left hand side of the entrance. Compare to the empty arrival hall at present, the redeveloped airport will have a massive services added including, a cafe, an ATM and a car hire services adding convenience for the travellers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the airport redevelopment, such as the increase in gates, the introduction of a skytrain, and the addition of new amenities. You provided a clear overview and made relevant comparisons between the two plans. However, to reach a higher band, ensure that all data points are accurate; for instance, you mentioned 18 gates, but the diagram shows 18 in total (the original 8 plus 10 new ones). Additionally, some descriptions could be more precise, such as specifying the location of the new facilities more clearly. Overall, you have covered the requirements of the task well.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The response is logically organized, with a clear introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that group information by theme. You use some cohesive devices effectively, such as 'In contrast' and 'However'. To improve, ensure that transitions between sentences are smoother. For example, the shift from discussing gates to shops feels slightly abrupt. Additionally, ensure that referencing is precise; in the final paragraph, 'the cafe there' is slightly ambiguous as there are multiple cafes mentioned. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate and the progression of ideas is clear.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.5

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the changes, using terms like 'redeveloped', 'amenities', and 'relocated'. There are some minor inaccuracies in collocation, such as 'massive services added' (services are usually 'introduced' or 'provided') and 'shop anything they want' (which is slightly informal). To improve, try to incorporate more precise academic vocabulary related to maps and diagrams, such as 'situated', 'adjacent to', or 'undergone significant transformation'. While your vocabulary is adequate for the task, increasing the variety and precision of your word choices would help elevate your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is generally effective. However, there are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text. For example, 'it's redeveloped plan' should be 'its redeveloped plan' (possessive vs. contraction), and 'Compare to the empty arrival hall' should be 'Compared to'. Additionally, 'there would not be much changes' should be 'there would not be many changes' (countability). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and article usage will help improve your accuracy.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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