Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-25

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 information about the refurbishment of an airport of future and how it is now.

Overall, it is clearly visible that there will be a lot of updation in the airpoet with the additon of multiple gates along with some basic facilities.

Intiating with the airport of current time, there is a check-in section in the left side of the departures with a cafe at right side which will be shifted at different places in future with the addition of bag drop section. Moreover, in front of departure area, there are security and passport control which will remain constant in next year.

Moving further, the walkway through the gates will be replaced by the skytrain with the increase of 10 gates. Additionally, passport control and customs will be at same location as now but some new additions such as cafe and ATM will be introduced in the area of arrivals. A new car park will also be there by increasing some area of the airport. Furthermore, the departure and arrival paths will be increased by number in future.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have successfully identified the main features of the airport redevelopment, including the addition of the skytrain, new gates, and facilities. You provided a clear overview and made relevant comparisons between the current and future states. However, the response lacks a degree of precision in describing the spatial layout. For instance, mentioning that the cafe will be 'shifted at different places' is vague. To reach a higher band, ensure that all key changes—such as the specific relocation of the check-in area and the expansion of the car park—are described with more clarity and detail regarding their relative positions on the map.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized, moving from a general overview to specific details about the current layout and then the future changes. You use cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'Moving further', and 'Additionally' to connect your ideas. However, the paragraphing is somewhat underdeveloped; the entire body of the report is essentially one long paragraph. Splitting the response into distinct paragraphs—one for the current layout and one for the proposed changes—would improve the overall structure and flow, making it easier for the reader to follow the comparison.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'refurbishment', 'redevelopment', and 'constant'. However, there are some inaccuracies and non-standard word choices, such as 'updation' (which is not standard English; 'upgrades' or 'modernisation' would be better) and 'airpoet' (a spelling error). The phrase 'at different places' is also somewhat imprecise. To improve, focus on using more precise collocations related to map descriptions, such as 'relocated to the opposite side' or 'expanded to accommodate'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some grammatical slips, such as 'in the left side' (should be 'on the left side') and 'at same location' (should be 'in the same location'). Additionally, the introductory sentence is a fragment and lacks a main verb. While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on prepositions and ensuring every sentence has a clear subject and verb will help improve your accuracy.

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

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