Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-10
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 given demonstrate the present condition of an airport and its future development.
Overall, present site of airport shows that it has basic departments with limited facilities, but future planning shows the more organized areas with essential facilities. Even departures, arrivals and sitting areas are well developed in future plan than present.
In terms of present plan, airport has one departure and only one arrival. Security passport control office has a cafe and check in only, while customs passport office has no basic facilities. For walkways there is only one way escalator and 8 gates for entry and exit.
In term of future plan, everything is very developed and organized. There are facilities of cafe, check and bag drops on both sides as well as security passport control and customs office. For entry and exit there are 2 different ways for both. On customs side car parking and ATM facility is also available. For walkway there are both escalators and elevators in future planning of air port development. The total number of gates are 1 to 18 in this plan.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
You have successfully identified the main features of the airport plans, such as the increase in gates and the addition of new facilities. However, the response lacks a clear, analytical overview. While you mention that the future plan is 'more organized,' you could improve by specifically highlighting the most significant changes, such as the expansion of the terminal building and the doubling of the number of gates. Some details, such as the specific mention of 'security passport control' having a cafe, are slightly repetitive and could be synthesized more effectively to show a clearer comparison between the 'before' and 'after' states.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression from the present to the future. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical and repetitive (e.g., 'In terms of...', 'In term of...'). To reach a higher band, you should use a wider variety of linking words and transition phrases to connect your ideas more fluidly. Additionally, some sentences feel like a list of features rather than a cohesive description of the changes. Improving the flow between sentences would significantly enhance the overall coherence of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to describe the airport features clearly. However, the range is somewhat limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'basic departments' and 'very developed' are quite simple. To improve, try to use more precise terminology related to maps and diagrams, such as 'expanded,' 'transformed,' 'redesigned,' or 'upgraded.' You also have some minor word-choice issues, such as 'sitting areas' (should be 'seating areas') and 'one way escalator' (which is slightly ambiguous). Expanding your range of descriptive adjectives and nouns will help you achieve a higher score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally affect clarity. For example, you often omit articles ('at airport', 'for walkway') and have issues with subject-verb agreement and pluralization ('present site of airport shows', 'total number of gates are'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are persistent throughout the text. To improve, focus on the correct use of articles (a/an/the) and ensure that your subjects and verbs agree in number. Incorporating more varied sentence structures, such as passive voice for describing changes, would also be beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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