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 illustrates the changes in the airport within the next year.
Overall, there are so many changes in the airport. The area of gates will be expanded and the departures and arrivals gates will also increase.
To begin with, currently there are only 8 gates but in the plan the number of gates will becomes 18. And the walkway through the collidor will be changed into sky train because the passage will become too long. Looking at the area between walkway and passport control, the whole area is empty but in next year new shops will set up.
Furthermore, the check in will be shifted towards right side, and the cafe which is just opposite to check in will be shifted to the corner near the departures area. At the place of check-in, there will be a counter for bag drop. These are the changes in the departure side and in arrivals, there will be cafe and ATM. Car hire service will also be available.
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 addresses the main features of the airport plans, correctly noting the expansion of the gates from 8 to 18, the addition of a sky train, new shops, and modifications to check-in, bag drop, cafes, and arrivals facilities. However, the overview is extremely basic ('Overall, there are so many changes in the airport') and lacks a synthesized summary of the key structural transformations. Furthermore, some spatial descriptions are slightly imprecise, such as locating new shops between the walkway and passport control rather than along the angled wall of the concourse stem. Overall, the response covers the primary visual data adequately but lacks the sophisticated selection and highlighting expected in higher bands.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a coherent overall arrangement, moving logically from an introductory statement and general overview to specific details about the gates and concourse, and finally to the departures and arrivals terminal changes. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped; the text consists of an introduction and only two body paragraphs, the second of which is a dense block of text ('Furthermore, the check in will be shifted...'). Cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive or basic (e.g., 'To begin with', 'Furthermore', 'Looking at the area'), and referencing is occasionally mechanical, leading to a score in the band 6 range.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms such as 'expanded', 'concourse', 'passport control', 'departures', and 'arrivals'. However, there are notable word-choice errors and unnatural collocations, such as 'collidor' (corridor), 'shops will set up' (shops will be established/opened), and 'at the place of check-in' (in place of check-in). Less common lexical items are attempted with varying degrees of accuracy, restricting the score to a 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as conditional or temporal clauses ('currently there are only 8 gates but in the plan the number of gates will becomes 18'). There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasings throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('number of gates will becomes'), missing articles ('the check in', 'cafe', 'ATM'), and awkward prepositional use ('in the next year', 'on the departure side'). While these errors do not impede overall communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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