Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-09

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 given pictures compares the layout of an airport form today with the future year.

Overall, in the future, various facielities are going to be added like, new shops, bag drop, ATM, car hire and sky train. The future airport going to expand the area by adding the number of gates.

Firstly, airport are planning to increase number of door in departures area and arrivals area from one door each to two doors. Inside the departures area, check-in area will be moves to top right side of room from left side, while the converting current check-in area into bag droping area. Cafe will be moved to left corner of departures doors. Additionally, inside the arrivals area, cafe and Atm will be added in left side of the room, whereas, taxi hire area will be at left corner of arrivals doores.

Some of the area wiil remain the same like, security area, passport control areas and customs area. New shop can be seen in the future after passing security area. Finall, the number of gates will be incresed from 8 to 18 gates, where people will use sky train to reach their planes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation clearly: the airport expands, the gate capacity rises from 8 to 18, and new facilities such as shops, a bag-drop area, an ATM and a sky train are introduced. You also compare several locations, including the relocated check-in counter and café. This gives the response a solid overview and covers the main stages of the plan. Some details, however, are misread: the plans do not show extra entrance doors, the café and ATM are on the upper-right side of Arrivals, and car hire is in a new extension on the far right—not a taxi-hire area at the left. The claim that security, passport control and customs remain unchanged is also too broad. More precise reporting of these features would strengthen an otherwise relevant summary.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing changes to the terminal and gates. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Additionally,” and “Finally” help the reader follow the description. However, some linking is mechanical, and the final paragraph combines unchanged facilities, shops and gate expansion without a clear spatial progression. Phrases such as “Some of the area wiil remain the same like” also make the relationship between the examples less clear. Grouping information consistently—for example, describing Departures, then Arrivals, then the concourse—would improve progression. Use linking expressions to show location and contrast, rather than relying mainly on a list of additions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “departures,” “arrivals,” “check-in,” “passport control,” and “gates,” so the reader can generally understand the facilities being described. There is also some useful variety in phrases such as “will be added” and “will be moved.” However, spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable, including “facielities,” “bag droping,” “doores,” and “taxi hire” for the map’s car-hire facility. Some expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “increase number of door” and “the future airport going to expand the area.” Aim for accurate facility names and natural collocations, and check spelling carefully. This would make the description more precise and easier to read.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “while” and a clause introduced by “whereas.” These structures help you compare the plans. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “The given pictures compares” has a plural subject with a singular verb, while “The future airport going to expand” is missing an auxiliary. In “check-in area will be moves,” the verb form is incorrect, and “airport are planning” has faulty agreement. Some sentences also omit articles or use awkward punctuation, as in “Some of the area wiil remain the same like.” Practise accurate future forms and subject–verb agreement, then proofread each sentence.

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