Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-22
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)
today we will talk about our plan to redevelop the southwest airport so lets begin with current infrastructure of the airport.Here, you can see that there are total 8 gates of the airport and two walkways which are surrounded by different gate numbers and also there is two entrance of arrivals and departures that is one for each and also one passport control on each side of arrivals and department where you can ask about your passport related issues and also security checks, customs,cafe and check-in areas. So this is the current infrastructure of the airport. So now moving forward to our plans for the redevelopment which includes increase in areas with adding more choices for entrances from total 18 gates according to the comfort of the people.And more interesting is our plan is to add sky train to make more interesting and helpful to the passengers. We are thinking of adding more shops and two arrivals and departures gates and also adding ATM machine this time as well as bag drop area and car hiring system and all others facilities like cafe, check-in area., control room, passport support will remain the same.So this is our plan of redeveloping this airport with incereasing area as well as adding more facilities to it.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to summarise the features of the airport before and after redevelopment, noting the increase in gates from 8 to 18, the addition of a sky train, shops, an ATM, a bag drop area, and car hire facilities. However, the response falls short of a standard academic report in several ways. Crucially, the tone and perspective are inappropriate for an IELTS Academic Task 1, as the writer uses conversational and first-person language ('today we will talk about our plan...'). Furthermore, key spatial comparisons and layout changes are inadequately described, resulting in a somewhat confused presentation of the visual data. The overview is weak, and the response lacks the objective, formal reporting style required, earning it a band score of 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text suffers from severe structural issues regarding cohesion and paragraphing. The entire response is written as one long, continuous block of text without proper paragraph breaks to separate the introduction, the current layout description, the proposed changes, and a concluding overview. Cohesive devices are repetitive and colloquial, relying heavily on phrases like 'So this is...', 'And more interesting is...', and 'So now moving forward...'. Although there is a basic chronological progression from the current layout to the future plans, the lack of paragraphing and the mechanical, conversational transitions restrict the response to a band 4.5, rounded to 5.0 based on general logical flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is overly simplistic and conversational, which is unsuitable for an Academic Task 1 report. Phrases like 'different gate numbers', 'comfort of the people', and 'ATM machine this time' demonstrate a limited and informal lexical range. There are also direct vocabulary errors and awkward phrasing, such as 'car hiring system' instead of 'car hire facilities'. While the student successfully incorporates some task-specific terms from the prompt (e.g., 'passport control', 'security checks', 'bag drop'), the lack of precise vocabulary for describing spatial changes, expansions, and modifications keeps the score at this level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on run-on sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions like 'and' (e.g., '...and also one passport control on each side of arrivals and department where you can ask about your passport related issues and also security checks, customs,cafe and check-in areas.'). There are frequent punctuation errors, missing commas, and run-on clauses that make parts of the text difficult to parse. Although simple sentences are generally understandable, attempts at longer complex structures are frequently ungrammatical or poorly controlled. Minor typographical and spacing issues also occur throughout the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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