Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-30
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 diagram illustrate the site of an airport and how it will look after redevelopment next year.
Overall, the building is expected to become larger and more complex.Although security,passport,control and customs will remain, the structure and arrangement of the facilities will change considerably..
At present, the building has relatively simple design.It contains security and passport control facilities, as well as a custom area.The central part of the building is narrow and has a small number of rooms on its upper level.
After development, the building will have a much larger and more comlicated upper structure.The central section will be extended upwards,with additional space on both sides.The lower level will continue to contain security, passport control and custom facilities,although their arrangement will be modified.The new design will also include a more extensive central area.
In conclusion, the development will mainly involve expanding the building and changing the arrangement of its existing facilities.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student attempts to summarise the main features of the airport maps, noting the expansion from a simple single concourse to a larger, more complex Y-shaped structure with added amenities like shops and a sky train. However, the response lacks specific reporting of key details from the visual data, such as the specific gate numbers (expanding from 1-8 to 1-18), the addition of a sky train, bag drop, or car hire. Furthermore, the length is barely at the minimum requirement, which restricts the depth of coverage. The overview captures the broad physical transformation, but the overall task response remains somewhat generalised and misses several prominent features shown in the diagrams.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The essay is divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction, moving to an overview, describing the 'now' layout, then the 'after development' layout, and finishing with a concluding sentence. Transitional phrases help guide the reader through the comparison. However, paragraphing is somewhat fragmented with very short paragraphs, and some sentences lack smooth cohesion. Referencing between the current and future states is generally clear, but the overall organisational structure feels slightly mechanical rather than fully integrated.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, using appropriate functional terms such as 'redevelopment', 'structure', 'arrangement', and 'facilities'. There are occasional spelling errors, such as 'comlicated' instead of 'complicated', and punctuation spacing errors like 'security,passport,control'. The lexical range is somewhat limited and relies on fairly basic descriptors, but it is sufficient to communicate the main ideas without causing significant difficulty for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and temporal framing ('how it will look after redevelopment', 'After development, the building will have...'). However, there are notable mechanical and grammatical issues, including subject-verb agreement errors in the opening sentence ('The diagram illustrate' instead of 'illustrates'), missing articles, and punctuation spacing flaws throughout the text. While these errors do not completely obscure the message, they occur frequently enough to prevent the writing from achieving a higher band score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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