Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-15

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 first map illustrates the Sothwest airport looks today and another displays after development.

Overall, the area will become more develop, with several new facilities going to add and some exisiting features. Security passport control and Passport control custom remain stable in the redevlopment.

The major change coming up is in the Gates. Instead of 8 gates right now, they going to convert it into 18 gates. Walkaway going to remove. While, adding new sky train in the center to access all the gates.

Srart from the bottom, cuurently arrivals section have none facilities. While, after development Car hire, ATM and cafe will be construct on the right side of the building. Where, Car hire next to the arrival gate on right corner.

There will no big changes in Departures.Cuurently, Departures have 2 facilities for passangers. Although, they will add one more facility and relaocat the all the facilities. From Departures gate entry, on left side rebuild the cafe. Compared to today's cafe will be replaced by Check-in section and old checkin transformed into new Bag drop service.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation clearly: the airport expands from eight to eighteen gates, the walkway is replaced by a central sky train, and new facilities appear in Arrivals and Departures. The overview also notes that passport control and customs remain, which is a relevant comparison. This covers the task well, though some details are less fully or accurately described. For example, saying Arrivals currently has “none facilities” overlooks the existing passport control and customs, and the description of the relocated Departures facilities is difficult to follow. To strengthen the response, report the Y-shaped concourse and the new shops, and describe the positions of the check-in, bag drop and cafés more precisely. The main features are selected, but a few important details need clearer development for a fuller account.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the gates and terminal areas. This gives the reader a general route through the comparison. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, and linking words are occasionally used mechanically or inaccurately. For instance, “While” begins a fragment, and “Where” introduces another incomplete sentence; “Although” also does not connect the Departures ideas smoothly. The sequence “From Departures gate entry, on left side…” makes the locations hard to follow. Use complete sentences and organise details consistently by area—for example, describe Departures first, then Arrivals, with each facility’s location and change stated directly. This would make the overall arrangement clearer and cohesion less dependent on abrupt connectors.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant map vocabulary, including “gates,” “facilities,” “redevelopment,” “ATM,” and “Bag drop,” so the reader can identify the main subject matter. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, word-form and spelling errors reduce precision. Examples include “more develop,” “going to add,” “Walkaway,” and “rebuild the cafe”; these do not describe the planned changes naturally. Misspellings such as “Sothwest,” “exisiting,” and “redevlopment” are also noticeable. Aim for accurate location and change vocabulary, such as “be extended,” “be relocated,” “along the right-hand wall,” and “a new facility will be added.” More precise phrasing would help distinguish what is retained, moved, removed or newly constructed.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt some sentence variety, including comparisons and future forms, but the range is limited and many sentences contain errors in basic structure. For example, “the Sothwest airport looks today” lacks a natural grammatical construction, while “they going to convert it” is missing an auxiliary verb. There are also incomplete clauses, such as “While, adding new sky train in the center,” and agreement or article problems in “arrivals section have none facilities.” These errors sometimes make relationships between changes difficult to understand. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check auxiliary verbs, articles, plurals and agreement. For example: “The concourse will be extended, and a sky train will run along its centre.”

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