Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The diagrams shows two plans of Southwest airport, before and the after developing. The proposed changes are to be completed next year.

The airport is expected to expand in size. The new structure will be as twice as the old one. Some key rennovations such as departure and arrival doors are noted. At the moment there are two doors, however next year there be four doors for entering and exiting. At present Southwest travellers use eight gates which are situated in 3 sides of a rectangular shape. A v-shape would be extended the existing building, thereby increasing the number of gates to 18. There is going to be a new cafe added below the passport control customs. The old cafe will be moved to the opposite left corner of the near the departures.

Apart from extensions, there are new features to be constructed such as car hire, sky train, ATM and bag drop. The walkway will be replaced by skytrain. The check-in will be opposite to the bag drop.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation: the airport expands from eight gates to eighteen, and you mention several additions, including the sky train, ATM, car hire and bag drop. The comparison between the current rectangular concourse and the future branching layout is relevant, and the response covers both plans. Some details, however, are inaccurate or unclear: the new concourse is Y-shaped rather than simply V-shaped, and the café is not added below passport control; the new café is in Arrivals, while the existing café moves to the bottom-left of Departures. The claim that the building will be twice as large and that there will be four entrance/exit doors is not supported by the plan. A clearer overview and more precise placement of features would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a generally coherent sequence: it introduces the plans, describes the expansion and gate changes, then lists additional facilities. Paragraphing also separates the main changes from the new features. Linking expressions such as “At the moment,” “however,” and “Apart from extensions” help show comparisons and additions. However, the progression is not consistently clear because several features are grouped without enough spatial explanation, and “Some key renovations such as departure and arrival doors are noted” does not clearly connect to the following claim about the number of doors. The final sentence about check-in being opposite bag drop is useful but would fit better alongside the description of the redesigned Departures area. Organising details by terminal area would strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing changes, including “expand,” “increasing,” “extended,” “constructed,” and “replaced.” These choices help communicate the broad redevelopment, and terms such as “gates,” “check-in,” and “bag drop” are appropriate to the plan. Some word choices and collocations are imprecise, however: “as twice as the old one” is not a natural way to describe size, while “departure and arrival doors” is vague. “A v-shape would be extended the existing building” also makes the spatial change difficult to picture. There are spelling errors in “rennovations” and “skytrain.” Use more precise map language, such as “the concourse branches into two arms” and “the café is relocated,” to improve clarity and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the purpose/result clause “thereby increasing the number of gates to 18” and the contrast introduced by “however.” Most of the intended meaning remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. For example, “The diagrams shows” has subject–verb disagreement, “next year there be four doors” is missing an auxiliary, and “A v-shape would be extended the existing building” has an incomplete passive construction. The phrase “the old cafe will be moved to the opposite left corner of the near the departures” also contains faulty sentence structure and article use. Check agreement, auxiliary verbs and sentence boundaries, and revise complex clauses so their grammatical relationships are clear.

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.