Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-20

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 maps show the redevelpment of a airport before and after.

Overall, the airport become more modren and large. a long sky train was added in the center. and sevrel new facilities like cafe, bag drop, atm, car hire are also know available.

The old airport has only few facilities departures on the left side and arrivals on the right side of the entrence. the check in table is in the center of the departures hall. and a cafe in the right corner. the security and passport control are on the left and customs are on the right. there are 8 gates and a walkway in the end of the airport.

The new airport has a larger area compared to the old one lots of new facilities ware added in the new extended model. the first and the major upgrade is that a sky train was instaled. and the gates were extended from 8 to 18. there are also new shops just besides the security and passport control room. they have added a atm, bag drop and a car hire facility.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The student attempts to address the task by describing the main differences between the two maps of Southwest Airport. An overview is provided, noting the modernization and the addition of facilities such as the sky train and extended gates. However, the response lacks precision in reporting specific details, features are somewhat generalized, and the information about the exact locations and layout changes (such as the Y-shaped concourse and specific terminal reconfigurations) is underdeveloped. While the main features are touched upon, the description lacks the rigorous comparative reporting expected at higher bands. Therefore, it meets the criteria for a Band 5.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The essay is divided into distinct paragraphs, attempting an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs detailing the old and new layouts. However, paragraphing is basic, and logical progression between sentences is frequently disjointed. Cohesive devices are minimal or misused, leading to a choppy reading experience. For example, sentences in the body paragraphs jump between disparate features without smooth transitions (e.g., shifting abruptly from check-in to security and gates). The lack of cohesive markers and occasional awkward referencing pull the overall organizational score down to a Band 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, such as 'airport', 'facilities', 'café', and 'gates'. There are noticeable spelling errors throughout the text, including 'redevelpment' for redevelopment, 'modren' for modern, 'sevrel' for several, 'know' for now, 'entrence' for entrance, 'instaled' for installed, 'besides' for beside, and 'atm' needing capitalization. While the language is minimally adequate to convey basic points about the map, the persistent errors and limited range restrict the score to a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student relies heavily on simple sentence structures, and attempts at more complex sentences are often faulty or punctuated incorrectly. There are numerous grammatical and punctuation errors, such as missing capital letters, run-on sentences, and incorrect verb forms (e.g., 'the airport become more modren and large', 'lots of new facilities ware added'). Articles are frequently omitted where required. The range of structures is limited, and the frequency of errors causes some distraction for the reader, fitting the Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.