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 diagrms depict the site of airport at present as well as in next year with redevelopment.

Overall, the airport made major developments, including many aminities in the airport area, such as incresed number of gates, added sky train, ATM and car hiring facilities.

To begin with, after one year number of gates for the entry is incresed along with the departures and arrivals gates. Apart from this, car hire facility is added as well as ATM. Moreover, check-in place area change the place, insted that place bag drop area will took place.

Furthermore, the diagram illustrates that airport will increse number of cafe and it will be seen at both gates. After redevelopment airport will have sky train insted of walkway. In addition to this, security area, passpoert control and customs office reamin unchanged.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the main direction of change, including the increase in gates, the addition of a sky train, ATM and car-hire facilities, and the relocation of check-in. You also note that security, passport control and customs remain unchanged. These are relevant features, and the overview gives the reader a general sense of redevelopment. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the cafés are not “at both gates,” and the walkway is not simply replaced by a sky train; the concourse is extended into a Y-shape, with the train running along its central stem. The changes to the terminal layout and shops are also omitted. The response is 15 words below the required minimum, and several points need fuller description.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing changes. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “Furthermore,” and “In addition to this” help signal progression. However, the organisation is sometimes mechanical, and the paragraphs do not consistently group related features by location or type of change. For example, the second body paragraph moves from cafés to the sky train and then to unchanged facilities without explaining how these relate spatially. Some references are also unclear, particularly “insted that place,” which makes the check-in and bag-drop change harder to follow. Grouping the terminal changes together and then describing the concourse would make the progression more coherent.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “gates,” “sky train,” “ATM,” “car hire,” and “passport control.” This gives you a basic range for describing the airport plan. However, several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce precision, such as “diagrms,” “aminities,” “incresed,” “passpoert,” and “reamin.” Some phrases are also unnatural or imprecise: “gates for the entry,” “car hiring facilities,” and “at both gates” do not clearly describe the features shown. Aim for accurate collocations and use location-specific terms, such as “the number of gates increases” and “a car-hire facility is added.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mix of simple and more complex forms, including “as well as” and “In addition to this,” and the main message is generally understandable. However, some grammatical errors make relationships between changes unclear. For example, “the airport made major developments” uses an awkward tense for a future plan, while “check-in place area change the place” has problems with verb form and sentence construction. In “bag drop area will took place,” the future form is incorrect; use “will be added” or “will replace it.” Articles and sentence patterns also need attention, as in “site of airport” and “number of gates for the entry.” Practise accurate future passive forms for planned changes.

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