Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-04

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 shows the site of Southwest airport currently and how it will look after redevelopment an year later.

The airport is going to have major changes in gates while there would be slight changing in Departure and Arrivals.

Many new things like Bag drop, ATM, Sky train, and car hire are planned to add in the airport building, While the Walk way is expected to be removed. In addition the locations of different things are also going to change.

The number of gates is going to increase from 8 gates to 18. While there would be 2 gates of arrivals and departure each instead of 1 which they currently have. A little changing in locations is also taking place where the bag drop, check-in and cafe is placed on the departure gates while another cafe, ATM and car hire are placed near arrival gates.

To summarise the redevelopment plan would be very beneficial for the travellers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main features of the airport redevelopment, such as the increase in gates and the addition of new facilities like the sky train and car hire. However, the report lacks a clear overview or summary of the most significant changes, which is a requirement for a high band score. The description of the layout changes is somewhat repetitive and lacks precision in spatial referencing (e.g., 'different things' is too vague). While the main features are identified, the comparison between the 'now' and 'next year' plans could be more analytical rather than just listing the changes.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. The use of cohesive devices is limited and occasionally repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'while' to connect clauses. Some transitions feel forced, and the referencing is occasionally unclear, particularly when referring to the locations of facilities. The summary at the end is very brief and does not effectively synthesize the information presented in the body paragraphs.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but lacks the precision and range required for a higher band. The student relies on basic terms like 'things' and 'changing', which are imprecise in an academic context. There is an attempt to use topic-specific vocabulary (e.g., 'redevelopment', 'travellers', 'departure gates'), but the overall range is limited. The phrasing 'an year later' is non-standard, and the repetition of basic verbs limits the sophistication of the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation. For example, 'The plans given shows' contains a subject-verb agreement error, and 'an year' is an incorrect article usage. There are also issues with word order and preposition usage, such as 'placed on the departure gates'. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency and accuracy of the writing.

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

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