Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-21

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 given plans represents the view of an airport now and how it will look next year after redevelopment.

Today, the Southwest airport's design is very minimal, we can see the departure and arrival gates side by side. No facilities are provided for the arrivals whereas the departure is having check in section and a cafe as well. Also, the departure has security checking with passport control department, followed by walkway and 8 gates after some empty space in between. The arrival department also have passport control along with customs checking. Meanwhile, next year, after development, there will be several improvements which will include a bag drop area along with the cafe and check-in in departures. Followed by security and passport control department which will remain same. The empty space between them will be occupied by several shops. The number of gates will increase more than double from today so there will be 18 gates along with sky train instead of walkway. The passport control and customs before arrivals will remain same and then there will be a cafe, ATM and care hire areas for convenience of people.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the airport plans and provided a clear comparison between the current layout and the proposed redevelopment. You covered the key changes, such as the increase in gates, the addition of shops, and the introduction of new facilities like the sky train and car hire area. To reach a higher band, ensure you provide a more distinct overview paragraph that highlights the most significant changes (e.g., the expansion of capacity and modernization of facilities) rather than jumping straight into the details. Additionally, ensure your descriptions are precise; for example, mentioning the specific locations of the new shops would add clarity.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized, moving from the current state to the future state. However, the paragraphing is weak; the entire body of the response is contained within a single paragraph, which makes it difficult to follow. You should separate the 'current' and 'future' descriptions into distinct paragraphs to improve readability. While you use some cohesive devices like 'Meanwhile' and 'followed by', the flow is occasionally mechanical. Using a wider variety of linking words to connect the changes between the two maps would improve the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to describe the changes, such as 'redevelopment', 'minimal', and 'convenience'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation. For instance, 'care hire' should be 'car hire', and 'departure is having' is not natural phrasing; 'the departure area features' would be more appropriate. You also rely on some repetitive structures. To improve, try to incorporate more precise verbs and nouns related to map descriptions, such as 'transformed', 'extended', 'relocated', or 'integrated', to demonstrate a more sophisticated control of language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are several grammatical errors that occasionally affect the flow. For example, 'The given plans represents' contains a subject-verb agreement error (should be 'represent'). You also have some punctuation issues, such as comma splices and missing articles (e.g., 'the departure is having check in section'). While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your meaning, they are frequent enough to limit your score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent use of articles to improve your accuracy.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.