Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)
The plans illustrates the site of an airport before development and how it will look after redevelopment next year.
Overvewing this plans, it is clear that the airport go through significant changes in the upcoming year. There are more facilites at both departures and arrivals areas.
To begin with, before the development there is departures area in sothern side, where is check in and a cafe . On the right side of the departures area there is arrivals site, where the whople arena is empty and there is no such facilities available. In the northern side there is two walkeays and eight gates , which people can use.
However, after the development in the departures site a new facilites will be added which is bag drop. On the other hand, at the arrivals site, three new facilites will be added namely a cafe, ATM and car hire. Western side there will be shops. At the top of the airport there will be a sky train and 10 more gates will be added total 1 to 18, which were less before the development .
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to address the task by comparing the two plans of the airport, noting the addition of facilities such as the bag drop, café, ATM, and car hire, as well as the expansion of the gates to 18 and the introduction of a sky train. However, there are notable inaccuracies and omissions in reading the map. For instance, the student states that the arrivals site before development had 'no such facilities available', whereas passport control and customs were present. Additionally, the spatial description is somewhat vague and underdeveloped, missing an overarching summary of the structural transformation (e.g., the Y-shape extension of the concourse). Consequently, the response satisfies the basic requirements of summarising main features with some comparisons, but falls short of a fully developed overview.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response is divided into four paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs detailing the 'now' and 'after' plans. Paragraphing is attempted, but transitions are abrupt, and cohesion is at times faulty. Phrases like 'To begin with, before the development there is departures area in sothern side' are mechanically linked and lack fluent progression. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as 'where the whople arena is empty', making it difficult to follow the precise spatial relationships on the map. Overall organisation exists, but logical flow and cohesive device usage remain basic and somewhat repetitive.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, with several spelling and word-choice errors that detract from the quality of the response. Examples include 'Overvewing' (overviewing), 'facilites' (facilities), 'whople' (whole), and 'walkeays' (walkways). The student attempts some less common vocabulary related to the prompt, such as 'redevelopment', 'facilities', and 'arrivals', but the range remains narrow and adequate only for basic communication. Frequent spelling slips and inappropriate collocations prevent the lexical score from reaching a higher band.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is weak throughout the response. There are frequent errors in verb tenses, articles, and prepositions, such as 'The plans illustrates' (plan illustrates/plans illustrate), 'the airport go through' (the airport will go through), 'there is departures area in sothern side' (there is a departures area on the southern side), and 'Western side there will be shops' (On the western side, there will be shops). These errors cause some difficulty for the reader and demonstrate poor control over basic and complex grammatical forms.
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.