Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-21

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 6.0)

The plans illustrates the site of an airport now and how it will look after redevelopment next year.

At present, the airport has a relatively simple layout. Passengers enter through the main entrance and pass through security and passport control before reaching the departures and arrivals areas. There is a check-in facility on the left side and a café on the right. A walkway connects these areas with the central part of the terminal, where the gates are located.

After redevelopment, the central terminal will remain, but two new branches will be added, creating a much larger airport. The left-hand wing will contain security and passport control facilities, as well as a café and a bag-drop facility. The right-hand wing will include passport control, customs, a café and an ATM. There will also be several shops near the central section.

In addition, the airport will have new transport facilities. A sky train will connect the terminal with the surrounding area, while car-hire services will also be available. The number of gates will increase considerably, providing more capacity for passengers than the current airport.

Overall, the airport will be significantly expanded, with the existing terminal being extended to form two additional wings. The redevelopment will also introduce several new facilities, including shops, an ATM, a sky train and car-hire services.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by comparing the two plans of Southwest Airport, highlighting the key changes such as the extension of the concourse into a Y-shape, the introduction of a sky train, additional gates, and new facilities like shops, an ATM, and car hire. An overview is included at the end which effectively summarises the main trends. However, there are minor inaccuracies in locating specific facilities; for instance, the student states that the left-hand wing will contain security and passport control, whereas the visual data shows shops along that section and security remaining near the main terminal entry. Despite these slight misinterpretations of specific positional details, the response covers the primary features well and presents a clear overall picture of the redevelopment.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The response is logically organised into five paragraphs, starting with an introduction that paraphrases the prompt, followed by body paragraphs detailing the current layout, the future layout, new transport and facilities, and a concluding overview. Cohesive devices are used adequately to guide the reader through the comparison (e.g., "At present", "After redevelopment", "In addition", "Overall"). Paragraphing is logical and functional, separating the description into distinct thematic areas. While referencing and paragraph transitions are generally clear and effective, the overall progression could be slightly smoother in linking individual structural changes to their precise locations on the map.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate and functional range of vocabulary suited to an Academic Task 1 response, using appropriate descriptive terms such as "redevelopment", "layout", "concourse", "facilities", and "capacity". There are attempts to incorporate less common vocabulary like "considerably", "surrounding area", and "significantly expanded". Word choice is generally appropriate, though there is a small grammatical error in the opening sentence ("The plans illustrates"), which slightly impacts lexical precision. Spelling throughout is accurate, and the vocabulary chosen successfully communicates the spatial and functional changes shown in the diagrams.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.5

The student employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms to describe the diagrams, utilising relative clauses and prepositional phrases effectively (e.g., "Passengers enter through the main entrance and pass through security..." and "A sky train will connect the terminal with the surrounding area..."). There are some error-free sentences, demonstrating good control over future and present tenses. However, there is a noticeable subject-verb agreement error in the very first sentence ("The plans illustrates"). Despite this minor blemish, the grammatical structures are controlled well enough to ensure that communication is never impeded.

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