Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-05

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 5.0)

The given diagrams describe the blueprint of a airport before and after expansion. How it looking.

Overall, there is massive increase in gates of airport. Before, there is not too much facilities for passengers but after improvement there is new area for meal and for cash. The total structure size besides increase.

Before, there are only one gate for arrival and departure but it exceed by one more. there is no change in security and passport control on both structures. At arrival new facilities opened which are ATM, CAFE and car hire. In old building there is no bag drop but in new it also introduced. The location of CAFE and check-in also relocated. New shops also opened at departure side. A new sky

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the ability to fully develop the task. While the student identifies some key features of the airport redevelopment, such as the increase in gates and the addition of new facilities like the ATM and cafe, the description is incomplete and ends abruptly mid-sentence. The overview is very basic and lacks a clear, comprehensive summary of the main trends. To improve, the student must provide a more detailed analysis of the changes and ensure the response is of sufficient length to cover all parts of the prompt thoroughly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay lacks a logical structure and clear paragraphing. The ideas are presented in a fragmented manner, and the abrupt ending makes the overall progression unclear. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link sentences and ideas effectively; for example, the transition between the general overview and the specific details is weak. The use of referencing is also inconsistent, making it difficult for the reader to follow the comparison between the 'before' and 'after' states. Improving the use of linking words and organizing the response into clear, distinct paragraphs would greatly enhance the coherence of the writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite limited and repetitive. The student relies on basic terms like 'new', 'big', and 'change', which do not demonstrate the range required for a higher band score. There are also issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'total structure size besides increase' and 'it exceed by one more', which are unnatural. To achieve a higher score, the student should aim to use more precise vocabulary related to maps and diagrams, such as 'expanded', 'relocated', 'transformed', or 'additional facilities', and focus on using these words in the correct context.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede communication. There are issues with subject-verb agreement ('there is not too much facilities'), article usage ('a airport'), and sentence structure ('How it looking'). The range of structures is very limited, consisting mostly of simple sentences. There is a lack of complex sentence forms, which are necessary to demonstrate grammatical control. To improve, the student needs to focus on basic sentence construction, correct verb tenses, and ensuring that plural and singular nouns are used correctly with their corresponding verbs.

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

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