Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The plans illustrates the current layout of Southwest airport and how it is expected to look after redevelopment next year.

Overall, the airport undergoes substantial expansion. The most significant changes include the extension of the central walkway into two branches, doubling the number of gates from eight to eighteen. In addition, several new facilities, such as shops, a cafe, an ATM, a sky train, a car hire and a bag drop, will be introduced, while the security, passport control and customs areas will remain unchanged.

At present, passengers enter the airport through separate departure and arrival entrances. The departure hall contains check-in center and a cafe. After passing through security, passport control and customs, passengers reach a straight walkway leading to eight gates (1–8).

Following the redevelopment, the departure area will be improved with the addition of large bag drop facility, the café will remain but will be relocated slightly. While shops will be built along the central walkway. The exsiting walkway will be extended before splitting into two branches, creating an additional ten gates and increasing the total number of eighteen gates. A sky train will be installed along the extended section to transport passengers to the gates. In the arrivals hall, the café and an ATM will be added on the left side. Furthermore, a car hire office will be constructed on extention of arrivals area.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task, providing a clear summary of the current layout of Southwest Airport and its proposed redevelopment. An effective overview is provided in the second paragraph, highlighting major transformations such as the expansion of the walkway, the doubling of the number of gates from eight to eighteen, and the addition of new amenities. Key features like the sky train, shops, bag drop, and the modified arrivals and departures areas are accurately reported and compared against the current plan. The ideas are well selected and supported by the visual data without unnecessary listing of every minor detail, demonstrating a solid understanding of the prompt requirements. This performance aligns well with the Band 7 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The writing is divided into logical paragraphs: an introduction, an overview, a description of the current layout, and a description of the future layout. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In addition', 'At present', and 'Following the redevelopment' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the spatial and temporal changes. Paragraphing is handled well, ensuring that present and future states are clearly segregated. The flow of information is smooth, and referencing between sentences remains clear and consistent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary with good flexibility and precision, suitable for an Academic Task 1 response. Appropriate terms related to maps and redevelopments are used, such as 'substantial expansion', 'relocated slightly', and 'branching'. However, there are a few minor lexical and grammatical word-choice slips, such as 'The plans illustrates' (agreement error) and 'exsiting' (spelling mistake), along with awkward phrasing like 'on extention of arrivals area' (missing article). Despite these minor errors, the vocabulary is varied enough to convey precise meaning and earn a solid Band 6.5 or 7.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses, participial phrases, and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'The plans illustrates the current layout of Southwest airport and how it is expected to look after redevelopment next year'). There are several instances of grammatical inaccuracy, most notably the subject-verb agreement error in the opening sentence ('The plans illustrates'), a spelling error ('exsiting'), and minor punctuation or phrasing issues such as sentence fragments or run-ons (e.g., 'While shops will be built along the central walkway.'). Nonetheless, these errors do not impede communication, and the majority of sentences are understandable, supporting a Band 6.0 rating.

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