Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-13

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 5.0)

The plan represents site of an airport now and how it will look after reestablishment after 1 year.

There will be more gates and sites after 1 year of redevelopment.

There are only 8 gates in the airport and will be 18 after a year. There are walkaways on the left side of the gates that lead to security passport control site but on the other hand, there will be sky trains between the doors and there will also be shop before the security passport control.On the left side of the airport, there is only 1 departure lane and there is also a cafe and a check in site. Compared to the current one, there will be 2 depature lanes and bag drop site will be added. There will be 2 arrival lanes compared to just 1 in curent one and there will be a cafe, an ATM and a car hire site.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change in capacity, noting that the airport expands from 8 to 18 gates, and you mention several additions, including shops, a sky train, bag drop, an ATM and car hire. These are relevant features, but the overview is brief and some comparisons are inaccurate or unclear. In particular, the plans show one Departures area and one Arrivals area in both versions, not “2 departure lanes” and “2 arrival lanes”; the new facilities are added within or beside these areas. The description also misplaces the walkway and sky train. The response is 142 words, below the required 150, with 11 prompt words excluded from the count. Develop the overview and describe the main layout changes more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response has a basic sequence: it begins with a general statement, compares the gates, and then describes Departures and Arrivals. This gives the reader some sense of the topic, but the ideas are compressed into one paragraph and the progression between locations is not consistently clear. Linking phrases such as “on the other hand” and “Compared to the current one” are used, yet the contrast they introduce is sometimes confusing, especially around the walkway, sky train and security area. Repeated use of “there will be” also makes the account feel list-like. Separate the overview from the detailed comparisons, group features by area, and use clear location references so each change follows logically.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “gates,” “sky trains,” “bag drop,” “ATM” and “car hire,” so the reader can recognise several planned facilities. However, the range is limited and some word choices are inaccurate or imprecise: “reestablishment” does not describe the airport’s planned redevelopment, “sites” is vague, and “lanes” is not the right term for the Departures and Arrivals areas. There are also spelling errors in “walkaways,” “depature” and “curent,” which reduce accuracy. Aim for precise map language such as “terminal area,” “concourse,” “facility” and “is located,” and check spelling before submitting. This would make the description clearer and more appropriate to an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate the broad comparison using simple sentences and some longer structures, for example, “Compared to the current one, there will be…” However, the range is limited, and errors recur in sentence construction, articles and punctuation. The opening needs an article (“represents the site”), while “There are only 8 gates in the airport and will be 18” lacks a clear subject in the second clause. The sentence beginning “There are walkaways…” runs into the next sentence without a space after the full stop, and several clauses are joined in a way that makes relationships difficult to follow. Practise complete, parallel comparisons, such as “There are eight gates now, but the redeveloped airport will have eighteen,” and use full stops to control sentence length.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.