Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-17

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 diagram compares the development of southwest airport of recent and what the look in next year if add some feautures.

Overall, there are few facilities shown in the now airport. There are eight gates and one walkway in the top of the airport. while, there are add three facilities in airport after development. Its look larger after development.

The look of airport now has limited facilities. In the departures side, cafe and check-in facilities are recorded and on the other side, passport control customs located in arrivals. At the top, there are eight gates are available and one walkway is located.

After development, the gates are increased from 8 to 18, and walkway changed to the sky train. Shops was aded on the left corner of the departures and one more facility, bag drop was added. Inthe arrivals side, three facilities were added which includes cafe, ATM and car hire. The look of airport large after redevelopment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main change clearly: the gate capacity rises from eight to eighteen, and the airport becomes larger, while new facilities are introduced. You also compare the current and planned layouts and mention several accurate additions, including shops, bag drop, a café, an ATM and car hire. This covers the task’s central features. However, some details are incomplete or imprecise: the walkway is not simply replaced by the sky train, as the concourse is extended into a Y-shape and the train runs along its central stem. The locations of the new facilities and the movement of check-in are also not fully explained. The overview is relevant, but a more precise account of the major structural changes would strengthen it.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to descriptions of the current and future airport. This helps the reader distinguish the two stages, and phrases such as “After development” provide basic signposting. However, progression within the paragraphs is limited: several points are repeated, including that there are eight gates and that the airport looks larger. Some linking is awkward or incomplete, as in “while, there are add three facilities,” and the final paragraph lists additions without a clear spatial sequence. Organise each stage from the terminal outward, and use references such as “in the departures area” and “along the extended concourse” to connect details more clearly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant task vocabulary, including “departures,” “arrivals,” “gates,” “walkway,” “ATM” and “car hire,” so the main subject is generally understandable. However, the range is limited and several expressions are imprecise or unnatural, such as “the look of airport,” “facilities are recorded” and “three facilities were added.” Spelling errors, including “feautures” and “aded,” also reduce accuracy. Try using more precise map-description language, for example “the terminal is expanded,” “the concourse is extended,” and “is located on the western side.” Avoid repeating “look” and “facilities”; varied, accurate wording would make the description clearer and more formal.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate the basic comparison through mostly simple sentences, and the response includes some attempts to combine ideas, such as “After development, the gates are increased from 8 to 18, and walkway changed to the sky train.” However, grammatical control is inconsistent, and errors sometimes make relationships unclear. Examples include “what the look in next year,” “there are eight gates are available,” and “Shops was aded”; these show problems with clause structure, verb forms and agreement. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “in airport” and the lowercase “while” after a full stop. Practise accurate simple sentence patterns first, then add controlled complex sentences using “while” or “whereas” to compare the two plans.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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