Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-25
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 maps ilustrate the area of a airport in present and how it looks after reconstruction in the future.
Overall, at present, the is two doors, one for entrance and other for exit and few facilities only on arrival side, and a single pathway but in future, there will be two doors for for entrance and exit, and two separate pathways for departure and arrival. Moreover, more facilities are added on both sides
Firstly, there are two side one for arrivals and one for departure, after entering the airport there is a check in area in the northeast of airport and there is also cafe just parallel to it. Above the cafe, there is passport control and security check area and then a crosswalk, which leads to 8 different gateways which are suitated in the north direction. Similarly, the people who arrived on the airport haveto passed through passport control and then have to clear their luguage from customs. After that they can exit from the airport.
In future, there are two doors for each side of airport and however, cafe will be moved southeast and check in counter will be moved to west of airport. The bag drop area will be on the place on check in area. Passport control and securoty will be same and after crossing it there will shops and pathway will be designed in y shape with total 18 gateways. On left side, there will be 9 gateways for departure and on right side there will be rest of 9 gates for arrivals.and there will ba sky train in centre to transport passengers. For arrivals after passing the pathway, passport control and customs will be there. After crossing the passport control and customs, there will be cafe in northwest and ATM in west of airport. A car hire area will be added adjacent to exit doors,
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 student attempts to cover the main changes shown in the maps, noting the expansion of the terminal, the increase in gates from 8 to 18, the addition of a sky train, and modifications to facilities such as check-in, cafés, and security. However, there are significant inaccuracies in spatial reporting. For instance, the student states that the check-in area is in the northeast and notes that the Y-shaped pathway assigns 9 gates for departure on the left and 9 gates for arrivals on the right, which misreads the diagram where all gates serve departures/arrivals and are numbered 1-9 and 10-18. Furthermore, the overview is rather basic and contains grammatical clutter. While the core comparison between the present and future layout is addressed, the numerous inaccuracies in locating features place this criterion at a Band 5.5.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is divided into logical paragraphs covering the introduction, an overview, the current layout, and the future plan. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes hindered by clunky transitions and repetitive sentence structures (e.g., repeatedly using 'there is' and 'there will be'). Cohesive devices are used, but they are often mechanical or misused, such as 'However' in the middle of a sentence structure ('In future, there are two doors for each side of airport and however, cafe will be moved...'). Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion lacks sophistication and smooth flow. This performance aligns with a Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, touching upon relevant airport terminology such as 'check in area', 'passport control', 'customs', 'bag drop', and 'sky train'. However, there is a very limited range of less common lexical items, and spelling/word-choice errors are noticeable throughout the text (e.g., 'ilustrate' instead of illustrate, 'suitated' instead of situated, 'haveto' instead of have to, 'securoty' instead of security, 'luguage' instead of luggage, and 'ba' instead of be). These errors and the reliance on basic descriptors restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentences, but grammatical accuracy is weak. There are frequent errors in article usage, prepositions, subject-verb agreement, and punctuation (e.g., 'the area of a airport', 'in present', 'the is two doors', 'people who arrived on the airport haveto passed through'). Comma splices and run-on structures also occur, such as in the final paragraph ('...on right side there will be rest of 9 gates for arrivals.and there will ba sky train...'). While meaning is generally recoverable, the high density of basic grammatical errors prevents the response from reaching Band 6.0, justifying a Band 5.0.
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