Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-17
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 diagrams below illustrate that how the site of southwest airport looks now and how will it look after redevelopment one year.
Overall, the airport undergo a significant number of changes, with the addition of shops, an atm, bag drop, new transportation facilities and extension of gates. Walk-away will also be replaced.
The number of gates will increased by adding 10 more gates making it 18 from 8 in the next year. The check-in also replaced towards the right side of passport control and a new bag-drop will be added in the place of check-in.
On the right side of arrival, cafe remained on its previous location but and a new atm will introduced after development and also a new cafe will built below it. A new car hiring service will also be added in coming year. On the entrance of airport, walkaway will converted into the sky train and new shops will be constructed their.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student covers the main features of the airport's layout before and after redevelopment, successfully highlighting the expansion of gates from 8 to 18, the addition of a sky train, shops, an ATM, bag drop, and car hire facilities. An overview is provided at the beginning, noting the significant changes to the site. However, the overview is slightly mechanical and could be more smoothly integrated. Key spatial comparisons are generally accurate, mentioning the relocation of check-in and the addition of new passenger amenities. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, satisfying the requirements for a clear summary of visual data, though some descriptions of locations could be more concise and precise.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a clear overall progression, moving from an introductory overview into body paragraphs that detail specific modifications. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction from the main body, though the body could be split into two smaller paragraphs to better separate terminal changes from concourse/transport changes. Cohesive devices are employed, but some transitions are clumsy or mechanical, such as 'On the right side of arrival' and 'On the entrance of airport'. Referencing is generally clear, but occasional minor awkwardness in sentence linking prevents the text from flowing entirely naturally.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to incorporate less common lexical items related to maps and redevelopment, such as 'redevelopment', 'transportation facilities', and 'relocated' (implied by 'replaced towards'). However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'the airport undergo' (undergoes/underwent), 'The check-in also replaced' (was replaced/relocated), 'atm will introduced' (will be introduced), and 'car hiring service' (car hire service). Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical inaccuracies limit the score to a solid 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and conditional time frames ('after redevelopment one year', 'making it 18 from 8'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, including tense inconsistencies ('illustrate that how the site... looks now and how will it look'), missing auxiliary verbs ('will increased', 'will built', 'will converted'), and preposition errors ('on the entrance of airport'). Punctuation is generally functional, but these persistent grammatical inaccuracies mean that only a minority of complex sentences are error-free, placing the response firmly in band 5.5.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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