Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05

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 7.0)

The given maps illustrate the current layouts of soutwest Airport and the proposed redevelopments scheduled for next year.

Overall, the airport will undergo a significant development and expansion, most notably through the addition of a new Y- shaped concourse and an increased number of gates. Additionally, several new passenger facilities will be introduced, including shops, a car hire service and an ATM.

Currently, the airport features a single liner concurse equipped with 8 gates. The departure hall located on the left contains, where security and passport control checkpoints leading to gates 1-8.

Next year, this section will be replaced by a Y shaped concourse accommodating 18 gates, accessible via newly installed sky-train. In the departure area, the check in desk will replaced by bag drop counter, while additional space will be designed for shops.

In the arrivals area, which presently, houses passport controll and customs, several new amenities will be added. These include a dedicated cafe, an ATM and a car hire counter. Meanwhile, passport control and customs will remain in the original positions.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview of the main changes and reporting the key features of both the current and future layouts of Southwest Airport. The overview effectively captures the expansion of the terminal, the addition of the Y-shaped concourse, and the introduction of new amenities such as shops, an ATM, and car hire. Key spatial relationships and alterations—such as the changes to the departure and arrival zones—are accurately highlighted and compared. While the description of certain internal modifications could be slightly more fully extended to reach the highest standard, the response clearly presents a well-supported and accurate summary of the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Information is suitably divided into logical paragraphs, beginning with an introduction and a high-level overview, followed by specific details regarding the current layout, future developments, and changes in the arrival area. Cohesive devices such as 'Currently', 'Next year', and 'Meanwhile' are used effectively to guide the reader through the transitions between the two maps, ensuring smooth progression. Paragraphing is managed appropriately, and referencing between ideas remains clear and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

The vocabulary used is sufficient for the task and demonstrates an adequate range, allowing the writer to describe map features with some precision. Less common items such as 'redevelopments', 'concourse', 'amenities', and 'counter' are attempted appropriately. There are, however, occasional minor lexical slips and typos—such as the spelling error 'soutwest' in the opening sentence, 'concurse' instead of 'concourse', and the slightly unnatural collocation 'check in desk will replaced'—which prevent the vocabulary score from reaching a higher band. Nevertheless, communication is never impeded by these choices.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'the airport features a single liner concurse equipped with 8 gates'). There are, however, some noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('the check in desk will replaced'), omitted auxiliary verbs in passive constructions, and occasional punctuation or punctuation-related syntax slips (e.g., 'which presently, houses passport controll'). While these errors occur regularly, the sentence structures remain generally functional and rarely impede communication.

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