Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-16
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 4.0)
The diagram shows the before and after of an airport look after redevelopment next year.
The name of the airport is southwest airport before redevelopment of the airport there are not much facilities like money exchange shop. Now there are only 8 terminals in the airport. Departure and Arrivals area is too complicated. There is a coffee shop in security passport control and not everyone can go there only passengers have the permission to go there.
The airport is well-developed and updated 18 terminals are constructed and departure and arrivals area is expanded so that aeroplanes can land easily coffee shop is cons
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response falls significantly short of the minimum length requirement, containing only 103 words compared to the required 150 words. As a result, the task is only partially addressed. While the student attempts to describe the changes to Southwest Airport, the overview is extremely basic and cuts off abruptly at the end of the text. Key features such as the expansion from 8 to 18 gates, the addition of the sky train, and the relocation of check-in are mentioned superficially or inaccurately, and the text ends mid-sentence. This severely limits the development of ideas and results in a low band score.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 4.0
The essay is poorly organised and suffers from a lack of proper paragraphing and structural flow. The text breaks down into disjointed sentences, and the response cuts off abruptly in the final sentence ('coffee shop is cons...'). Cohesive devices are largely absent, and referencing between ideas is weak, making the progression difficult to follow. While there is a rudimentary attempt to separate the introduction from the body, the overall structure fails to meet the standards of coherent academic writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive (e.g., 'airport', 'terminals', 'coffee shop'). There are noticeable lexical inadequacies, such as referring to gates as 'terminals' and confusing basic airport terminology. Attempts at less common vocabulary are absent. Furthermore, word choice and collocations are awkward, and the sudden cut-off at the end prevents any display of a wider lexical range. Spelling and basic word formation require significant improvement.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The grammatical range is extremely limited, relying heavily on simple sentences with frequent run-on constructions and comma splices, such as 'Now there are only 8 terminals in the airport. Departure and Arrivals area is too complicated.' Punctuation and capitalization are neglected throughout the text, and grammatical accuracy is low, with missing articles and incorrect verb forms. The incomplete sentence at the end further demonstrates poor control over sentence structure.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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