Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-01

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 illustration shows the blueprint of an airport in which it compares the before and after construction of the airport within a year.

In conclusion, it is clear that there will be huge development in the provide airport; futher , the airport would be spacious for number of people to commute easily within the airport because of its huge size.

Now, the airport looks really simple and smaller in size, it has only one gate for departures and arrivals; Moreover, there is only one cafe in the departure for people to have some goods and there are eight gates in total from where people can leave by walking from the gates

After a year, the airport will be complex in design and larger in size, it has two gates each for departures and arrivals. Additionaly, both has cafe and departures has its bag drop: whereas, arrivals its own ATM and has car hire from where can hire transport to home.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the airport plans, identifying the key changes such as the expansion of gates and the addition of facilities like the bag drop, ATM, and car hire. However, the report lacks a clear overview or summary of the most significant trends, as the 'conclusion' paragraph is placed at the beginning and focuses on general observations rather than a synthesis of the data. The description of the current layout is somewhat confusing, as it mentions 'eight gates' which are not clearly supported by the visual evidence provided in the prompt. To improve, ensure that the overview highlights the most striking changes, such as the overall increase in capacity and the diversification of passenger services.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organised into paragraphs, but the logical flow is hindered by the unusual placement of the conclusion at the start. The use of cohesive devices is present but often mechanical or misused, such as the transition 'In conclusion' at the beginning of the text. Furthermore, the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly in the final paragraph where the sentence structure becomes fragmented ('whereas, arrivals its own ATM and has car hire'). The progression of ideas between the 'now' and 'after' sections is logical, but the internal structure of the paragraphs needs better control to ensure a smoother reading experience.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision required for a higher band. There is a reliance on simple, repetitive language such as 'huge', 'simple', and 'smaller'. Some word choices are imprecise or awkward, such as 'have some goods' instead of 'purchase refreshments' or 'commute' when referring to airport movement. There are also minor spelling and punctuation errors, such as 'futher' and 'Additionaly'. To achieve a higher score, you should aim to use more specific terminology related to airport infrastructure and improve your control over word collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation that occasionally impede clarity. For example, the sentence 'both has cafe and departures has its bag drop: whereas, arrivals its own ATM and has car hire' contains multiple errors in subject-verb agreement and missing verbs. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with misused semicolons and commas. While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of grammatical slips prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct sentence construction will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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