Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-11
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 plans below show the site of an airport now and how it will look after redevelopment of one year.
Overall, there is a dramatic change in the number of gates of the airport. In new airport, extra additional facilities will be build. The place for the arrival and for the departure will remained the same.
In the present airport, there are 8 gates but in the future airport there will be the 18 gates. The security passport control and the passport control customs will remain at the same place of present airport. The facility of ATM will included in the future airport. In the right corner of the airport, there will be make place for car hire.
Betweenth gates of new airport, there will be a sky train for the passengers. The cafe will converted to the left corner of the airport. Above that. there will be a place for a bag drop of passengers. Different shops will included in the new airport behind the gates. These two facilities are not available in present airport.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5
You identify the main transformation clearly: the gate capacity rises from 8 to 18, while the arrivals and departures areas remain in place. You also report several relevant additions, including the sky train, shops, ATM and car hire, so the response covers the central changes. This meets the task well overall, though some details are less fully or precisely described. For example, “the café will converted to the left corner” does not make clear that the future plan shows a café in the bottom-left of Departures, while another café is added in Arrivals. The bag drop is also placed “above” the café, rather than specifically on the west wall. A more complete overview and clearer location comparisons would strengthen the report.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing features. This gives the reader a basic route through the information, and phrases such as “In the present airport” and “In the future airport” help distinguish the plans. However, progression within the detail paragraphs is not consistently clear: the account moves from gates to controls, then to facilities, without a systematic comparison of the terminal areas. Linking is also limited, and “These two facilities” is unclear because several facilities have just been mentioned. Grouping changes by Departures, Arrivals and the concourse, and using clearer references such as “the shops and bag-drop area,” would make the organisation more coherent and reduce ambiguity.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
You use relevant task vocabulary, including “gates,” “passport control,” “ATM,” “car hire” and “sky train,” which allows you to report the main features. There is also some attempt to describe change through phrases such as “remain at the same place” and “not available in present airport.” However, several word choices and collocations are awkward or imprecise, including “extra additional facilities,” “will be make place,” and “behind the gates.” “The place for the arrival and for the departure” is also less natural than naming the arrivals and departures areas. These choices do not prevent the reader from understanding the broad message, but they limit precision. Aim for concise, conventional map language such as “additional facilities will be added” and “shops will line the concourse.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences, and the basic meaning is generally understandable. However, control of verb forms and sentence construction is inconsistent. Examples include “will be build,” “will remained,” “will included,” and “will converted,” where the future passive requires “will be” plus a past participle. The sentence “In new airport” also needs an article, and “there will be make place” is not a well-formed construction. Punctuation is occasionally faulty, as in “Above that. there will be…”. These errors recur and sometimes make the reader pause, although the intended changes can usually be inferred. Practise accurate future-passive forms and use shorter, complete sentences when describing locations.
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