Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-19
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 below illustrates the site of an airport terminal prior to and after renovated coming year.
Overall, the airport underwent significant development, including the addition of shops, new amenities sach as ATM and car hire and an expanation of gates from 1-8 to 1-18. In addition, security and passport control and customs areas stayed unchanged positions.
Before the redevelopment , the terminal was divided into departures and arrivals, security and passport control sitauted at the departures side and the paasport control system available at arrivals side. There are also the cafe near 5he departure area. A walkway leads to gate 1-8, with gates 1-3 located straight and 4-8 around the upper part.
Following the redevelopment, the central walkway was extended and connected to a sky train. Shops added along the pathway, while the number of gates increased to 18
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response falls short of the minimum 150-word requirement, containing only 140 words, which incurs a penalty under Task Achievement. However, the student successfully identifies the main features of the airport's layout before and after redevelopment. The overview captures key global changes, such as the expansion of gates, the introduction of a sky train, new shops, and additional amenities like car hire and ATMs. Details regarding the structural changes to the concourse and departures/arrivals areas are also reported. While some minor details are omitted or slightly underdeveloped due to the word count constraint, the overall information is accurately selected and compared, aligning with the requirements for a Band 5.5 to 6.0 performance, adjusted down slightly for length.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The essay is organized into four paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, a description of the 'now' layout, and a description of the 'after' layout. This provides a logical framework for comparing the two maps. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Overall', 'In addition', 'Before the redevelopment', and 'Following the redevelopment', which help guide the reader through the temporal changes. However, referencing and cohesion are occasionally faulty or mechanical, such as missing articles and slight awkwardness in transitions. Paragraphing is used appropriately, but overall progression could be smoother and more thoroughly elaborated to reach higher bands.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting words like 'redevelopment', 'amenities', 'expansion', and 'concourse'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'illustrates' instead of 'illustrate', 'renovated coming year' instead of 'renovation in the coming year', 'sach' instead of 'such', 'expanation' instead of 'expansion', 'sitauted' instead of 'situated', and 'paasport' instead of 'passport'. These errors do not completely impede communication but restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5, as less common vocabulary often lacks accuracy.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('The plans below illustrates'), missing prepositions or articles ('stayed unchanged positions', 'The cafe near 5he departure area'), and tense confusion ('Shops added along the pathway' instead of 'Shops were added'). While complex structures are attempted, they frequently contain errors that require the reader to slow down. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but frequent grammatical slips keep the score at Band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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