Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 provided plans illustrate the site of an airport now and how it will look in the next year after redevelopment.

Overall, it can be clearly seen that, an airport is expected to undergo alot of change, which includes new shops, ATM, sky train, car hire, and bag drop. The most notable change will be the addition in the number of gates. Security and custom

In the recent time, in the Northern side it contains total 8 gates with the walkway in the middle attaching with 1,2,3 and 4 gates. In the West, security passport control is located, and just below check-in is situated, while in the top right corner cafe is located. Departures is on the South side. In the East, passport control customs is located, and arrivals is on the South.

After development, the number of gates will be increase upto 18, and sky train is expected to added in the place of walkway. New shops will be added just above the security passport control, while bag drop will be added in the place of check-in and check-in will be relocated in the top right corner. Whereas cafe will also relocated at the bottom corner, while new cafe will be added in the East top corner and ATM will also be added with car hire in the below. The gates of departures and arrivals will increase by 1.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the overall expansion and several key additions, including shops, an ATM, a sky train, car hire and an increase from eight to eighteen gates. You also compare the two layouts and describe changes to check-in and café locations. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the sky train is added along the concourse stem, but it does not simply replace the walkway; the new shops are beside the concourse, not “just above” security; and the final claim that the gates of departures and arrivals increase by one is unsupported. The overview also ends abruptly at “Security and custom”. To strengthen the response, give a complete overview and describe the main spatial changes more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and separate descriptions of the current and future layouts. This helps the reader follow the comparison. However, progression is weakened by the incomplete overview sentence, “Security and custom”, and by some unclear or awkward links between details. For example, “In the recent time” does not clearly introduce the current plan, while the final paragraph moves rapidly from gates to shops, bag drop, check-in, cafés and car hire. The repeated use of “while” and “whereas” also makes the relationships feel mechanical. Grouping changes by area—departures, arrivals and concourse—and using clearer transitions would make the organisation more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant vocabulary for describing a plan, including “relocated”, “addition”, “Northern side” and “top right corner”, and the reader can generally understand the intended changes. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or imprecise: “the number of gates will be increase” and “expected to added” do not express the changes naturally, while “in the place of walkway” is vague. “Gates of departures and arrivals” also mislabels the gates, which are in the concourse. Spelling and form errors such as “alot” and “custom” further reduce control. Use precise location language and standard map vocabulary, such as “concourse”, “adjacent to” and “on the western wall”, and check spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses linked with “while” and “whereas”, and the main message is usually recoverable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction are evident. Examples include “the number of gates will be increase”, “sky train is expected to added” and “cafe will also relocated”; these should use forms such as “will increase”, “is expected to be added” and “will also be relocated”. The opening overview also has faulty punctuation and an incomplete sentence: “Security and custom”. Some long sentences combine several changes without clear grammatical control. Practise accurate future passive forms and divide lists of changes into shorter, complete sentences.

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