Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-17
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 presents the site of an airport now and how it will look after redevelopment next year.
Overall, it can be seen that clearly, area underwent several significant changes, with Sky train, ATM, Car hire, and Bag drop being the most noticeable developments. Meanwhile, Cheak-in, Cafe, Walkway, and Gates remained in the same location throughout the period.
Looking at the southwest airport, 8 gates was converted into 18 gates after redevelopment. In addition, sky train, ATM, car hire, and bag drop were constructed, while walkway was removed. Furthermore, cheak-in was replaced to new location front of bag drop as well as cafe was replaced behind the ATM.
Turning to the enters, departures and arrivals gates remained unchanged direaction after and before. In contrast, the arrivals gate next to the right side was added one small cafe. Overall, the area became more development and convenient that it had been previously.
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
The response covers the main features of the airport redevelopment, including the expansion of gates and the addition of new facilities. You successfully identified the key changes, such as the construction of the sky train and the relocation of the check-in area. However, the description of the layout is occasionally imprecise, such as saying 'cheak-in was replaced to new location front of bag drop'. To reach a higher band, ensure you provide more precise spatial descriptions and avoid over-generalising. The overview is present but could be more clearly integrated to highlight the most significant transformations rather than just listing changes.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is organised into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the progression of the information. You use some cohesive devices like 'Meanwhile', 'In addition', and 'Furthermore' to link ideas. However, the use of these devices is sometimes mechanical or slightly repetitive. The referencing is generally clear, but there are instances where the flow is interrupted by awkward phrasing, such as 'Turning to the enters'. Improving the variety of your linking words and ensuring smoother transitions between sentences would enhance the overall coherence of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'redevelopment', 'noticeable developments', and 'converted'. However, there are several spelling errors, such as 'Cheak-in' (Check-in) and 'direaction' (direction). Additionally, some word choices are slightly unnatural, such as 'the area became more development' instead of 'more developed'. To improve, focus on accurate spelling and using more precise collocations when describing changes to infrastructure. The vocabulary is sufficient to convey the main points, but the errors occasionally distract the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that affect the clarity of the writing. For example, '8 gates was converted' should be 'were converted', and 'added one small cafe' is grammatically incorrect. There are also issues with article usage and preposition choice, such as 'in front of' being written as 'front of'. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and basic sentence construction will lead to significant improvement.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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