Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 plan below illustrates the original look of an airports site and changes after renovation next year

Overall, the renovation has been added a lot of modern facilities and increased the number of gates. In the origonal layout departures had two facilities, which are check-in and cafe. But in the new design a bag dropand a shops are also added, and cafe shifted the location into left with the new bag drop. And shops are visible after security passport control area.

In the past, arrivals had no option without customs but a significant change showed in the new design. They extended horizontally and vetically . In the new space a car hire option is added aslo another cafe and ATM has founded there.

The massive change has been shown with the gates the look more organize now. Though the number of gates are increased but two way gates also found which can make it more functional and sky trains are very usefull for the passenger to pass the long way road

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main changes: the gate capacity expands, a sky train is introduced, and new facilities such as bag drop, shops, a café, an ATM and car hire appear. The overview also recognises that the redevelopment modernises the airport. These relevant points support a clear response to the plans. Some details, however, are inaccurate or too vague: the shops are between Departures and the concourse, not “after security passport control,” and the new check-in position beside Arrivals is omitted. The description of the concourse as extending “horizontally and vertically” does not explain its Y-shape or the two arms. To strengthen the response further, report the key locations and comparisons more precisely and distinguish the changes in Departures from those in Arrivals.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and separate paragraphs about Departures, Arrivals and the gates. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear, particularly in the overview, where several changes are joined in a long sequence with “But” and “And.” The final paragraph also moves from gate numbers to the sky train without clearly explaining their relationship. Some references, such as “there” and “two way gates,” are not sufficiently precise. Use clearer topic sentences and organise details by area, then connect each change with accurate linking phrases such as “whereas,” “in addition” and “by contrast.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant vocabulary for describing a redevelopment, including “facilities,” “increased the number of gates,” “car hire” and “ATM.” This shows an attempt to use task-specific language. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unclear, including “the renovation has been added,” “cafe shifted the location,” “two way gates” and “long way road.” Spelling errors such as “origonal,” “aslo” and “usefull” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise map-description phrases, for example, “the café is relocated to the bottom-left corner” and “the concourse is extended into a Y-shape.” Proofreading spelling and choosing natural collocations would make the description easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a contrast with “Though the number of gates are increased…” and a relative clause in “which can make it more functional.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships between ideas difficult to understand. Examples include “the renovation has been added,” “a significant change showed,” and “the number of gates are increased”; these involve faulty verb forms or agreement. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “a shops” and the run-on sequence “But in the new design a bag dropand a shops are also added.” Practise accurate past and future forms for comparing plans, and check subject–verb agreement, articles and punctuation when editing.

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