Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-03

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 Map compares the Airport architecture before and after the redevlopment. The Most Prominent features the newly redeveloped airport will be offering are Bag drop area, ATM, Sky Train, and the Car hire.

The New Airport will have 18 Gates instead of 8 with the overall design of 'Y' and there will be the Sky train offering shuttle service. The Security, Passport Control and Customs room will remain same. The Redeveloped Airport will have Shops on the North of Security room.

The new Bag drop area will be in the place where the Check-in used to be in the earlier contruction. Subsequently, the Check-in will be at the older cafe place. There will be two doors and separate Cafe for each in the new Airport, Departures and Arrivals. ATM Machine is deployed on the North-East of Arrival Doors. Subsequently, the Car hire is also at the East of Arrival Doors.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main changes between the current and redeveloped airport, such as the expanded gate system, the sky train, and the addition of shops and facilities. However, some aspects are under-developed or superficially covered. For instance, the transition of the check-in and bag drop areas is mentioned, but the spatial changes and exact layouts are not fully explored. To reach a higher level, the writer should provide a more thorough overview and extend descriptions of key structural shifts rather than listing features abruptly in the opening sentence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement, successfully dividing information into a logical paragraph structure that moves from an introduction of main features to specific structural changes. Nonetheless, cohesion is occasionally mechanical and referencing is not always clear, with transitional expressions like 'Subsequently' used awkwardly to link spatial shifts rather than logical sequences. Paragraphing is present, but internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by smoother transitions between the terminal building modifications and the concourse expansions to establish a clearer sense of progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'redevelopment', 'prominent features', and 'deployed'. However, there are noticeable lexical inaccuracies and word choice issues, such as 'contruction' (construction), 'earlier contruction' instead of 'previous layout', and awkward phrasing like 'ATM Machine is deployed on the North-East of Arrival Doors'. Spelling errors like 'redevlopment' also occur. To achieve a higher score, the writer must demonstrate greater precision in word choice and maintain consistent accuracy in spelling and collocation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing structures like relative clauses and conditional-style placements. However, there are noticeable errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly concerning articles and prepositions, such as 'The Most Prominent features', 'remain same' (remain the same), and 'on the North of Security room'. Other errors include awkward noun phrase modifiers like 'the older cafe place'. While these mistakes rarely impede communication, they persist throughout the response, preventing the achievement of a higher level of grammatical control.

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.