Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-08
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 plan below presents the site of an airport in present time and how it will look in future after redevelopment in next year.
Looking more details in both pictures it is clear that , it shows the development of airport buildings now and after.In present time the buildings have 8 gates at the top and two walkway ,after redevelopment in future there were 18 gates and two sky trains and replaced walkway.New shops are added after redevelopment of southwest airport above the security passport control department.Now checkin area is in left side after development it replaced with bag drop area and check in area shifted to right side below the security passport control.Now the cafe is in northeast side after redevelopment it shifted to southwest.
After development in passport control cusroms cafe and ATM section is added for easy access to passengers.After redevelopment in east side car hire is maintained for passengers.The arrivals and departures area are at same location in present airport and after development.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
You identify the main transformation from eight gates to eighteen and note that the departures and arrivals areas remain in the same locations. You also mention several new facilities, including shops, a bag-drop area, an ATM and car hire. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the plan shows one sky train, not two, and the shops are beside the concourse rather than “above the security passport control department.” The café’s move is described as northeast to southwest, whereas the current café is on the right side of departures and the new one is in its bottom-left corner. The overview is also not clearly separated from the details, and important changes to the concourse shape and gate layout need clearer explanation.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a basic sequence: it introduces the plans, compares several changes, and ends by noting that arrivals and departures stay in place. This gives the reader some overall organisation. However, the main features are crowded into one long paragraph, and the final paragraph adds details without a clear link to the earlier comparison. Connectors such as “Now” and “After development” are repeated, while phrases such as “Looking more details in both pictures” do not establish a clear direction for the description. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and for changes to the terminal and concourse, then group related features together and use precise references such as “in the redeveloped departures area.”
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant task vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “gates,” “passport control,” “bag drop” and “car hire,” so the reader can recognise many of the facilities being compared. However, the range is limited and several choices or combinations are imprecise, which sometimes makes the layout difficult to picture. For example, “two walkway” and “two sky trains” do not accurately describe the plan, and “maintained” is not a natural way to say that car hire is newly provided. Spelling errors such as “cusroms” and “checkin” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise location language and use terms such as “concourse,” “extended,” “relocated” and “added” accurately.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response attempts both simple statements and longer comparisons, for example, “The arrivals and departures area are at same location in present airport and after development.” However, sentence structures are often faulty, and errors can make relationships between features unclear. Examples include “in present time the buildings have 8 gates,” “after redevelopment in future there were 18 gates,” and “the café is in northeast side.” These show problems with articles, prepositions and tense consistency. There are also agreement and punctuation issues, as in “two walkway” and the comma spacing in “clear that , it shows.” Practise accurate present-versus-future forms and build shorter, controlled comparison sentences before combining ideas.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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