Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-14

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

map ielts writing task 1

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The diagrams illustrates the site of an airport at present with the future redevelopment that will take place in next year.

Overall, the airport site will undergo major changes with development of new amenities such as bag drop, ATM, sky train, care hire and addition of 10 more gates.

At present, the airport site comprise 8 gates at the northern side. Security, passport control and customs are located in the centre of the airport site with check-in at west and cafe at the east of airport site. Meanwhile, the departures and arrivals are in the south of the airport site.

Next year, the airport will undergo certain changes with the redevelopment of 10 more gates at the northern site. Meanwhile, security, passport control, customs will remain at centre. Their will be construction of shops, bag drop, cafe in the west and check-in at the opposite. However, ATM, car hire and cafe will be at east of the sirport site.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.5
Overall6.0

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You provide a relevant overview by identifying the airport’s expansion and the addition of amenities, and you correctly note that the gate total rises from 8 to 18. You also cover the main terminal areas and mention several new facilities. However, some important changes are reported imprecisely: security, passport control and customs are not all simply “in the centre,” and the new shops are along the angled wall beside the concourse, rather than generally in the west. The description of the new gate layout and the sky train is also missing, while the unchanged terminal features could be compared more clearly. Develop the overview around the expanded Y-shaped concourse and explain the main relocations and additions more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear four-paragraph structure: introduction, overview, present layout and future layout. This gives the reader a sensible overall progression, and time markers such as “At present” and “Next year” help distinguish the two plans. The contrast signalled by “Meanwhile” and “However” also shows an attempt to connect information. To make the organisation more effective, group details by area or by type of change, rather than listing several facilities in broad west/east terms. “Meanwhile” is repeated, and “Their will be construction” does not connect smoothly to the surrounding description. Use clearer references and transitions to show which features remain, move or are newly added.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant map vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “gates,” “check-in,” “passport control” and “amenities,” so the reader can follow the general subject. There is some variety in how you describe change, such as “undergo major changes” and “construction.” However, several choices are inaccurate or awkward: “care hire” should be “car hire,” “at the northern site” is less natural than “in the northern part,” and “addition of 10 more gates” is imprecise when the total becomes 18. “Airport site” is repeated, and “certain changes” is vague. Aim for precise location phrases and map-specific verbs such as “extend,” “relocate” and “remain.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mixture of simple statements and more developed sentences, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the contrast introduced by “However.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “The diagrams illustrates” has subject–verb disagreement, while “the airport site comprise” should use “comprises.” Articles and prepositions are also sometimes missing or awkward, as in “in next year” and “at west.” The sentence “Their will be construction” has an incorrect form; use “There will be construction” or “Shops and a bag-drop area will be added.” Check agreement, articles and sentence patterns carefully, while continuing to practise complex comparisons.

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