Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-21

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 given graphs illustrate about the view of airport that how it looks now and the looks of airport after to development.

Overall, the planes showed the difference between the sites of airport before and after to developed it and added some facilities on it like bag drop, ATM and so on.

On one hand, there are only few facilities were in air before redevelopment.At departures side, there are caf'e and check-in were located to the north side of airport and the walkway are in the south side of airport. And the security of passport control is on departures side and the coustoms are in arrival side of an airport.

On other hand, after redevelopment, there are 18 gates instead of 8 gates in south side of airport with sky trains are located. At departures, there are caf'e as well as bag drop are located with check-in. And on arrivals they added ATM machine with caf'e and car hire.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main change in capacity, noting that the airport expands from 8 to 18 gates, and mention several new facilities, including the sky train, ATM and car hire. These are relevant features, and the before-and-after comparison gives the response a clear focus. However, the overview is vague: it says facilities were added but does not clearly summarise the major redevelopment, especially the concourse’s change to a Y-shape. Some details are inaccurate or unclear. For example, the walkway is described as being on the south side, although it runs along the concourse, and the café and check-in are said to be on the north side, which does not match the plan. Develop the overview and describe the locations more precisely, including the relocated check-in and new shops, to cover the plans more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction, a brief overview, and separate paragraphs for the current and future layouts. The contrast markers “On one hand” and “On other hand” help signal the comparison, and the reader can generally follow the sequence from the existing airport to its redevelopment. However, the progression within paragraphs is sometimes unclear because several facilities are listed without a consistent route or spatial order. The overview also repeats the general idea of change rather than previewing the most important changes. Use clearer location-based sequencing—for example, describe departures, arrivals, and then the concourse—and connect related details with precise references such as “in the terminal’s western section” or “along the extended concourse.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “redevelopment,” “gates,” “sky trains,” “bag drop,” “ATM machine,” and “car hire,” so the reader can identify many of the facilities. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which makes parts of the description awkward: “the view of airport,” “the planes showed,” and “added some facilities on it” do not express the map changes naturally. There are also spelling and form issues, such as “coustoms” and “caf'e.” Aim for precise map-description language and use standard spellings. Replacing general or unsuitable phrases with terms such as “layout,” “concourse,” “located,” and “introduced” would make the account clearer and more appropriate to IELTS Task 1.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, but the range is limited and complex sentences are often faulty. For example, “illustrate about the view of airport that how it looks now” has an incorrect clause structure, while “there are only few facilities were in air before redevelopment” combines incompatible verb patterns and omits an article. Agreement and tense are also inconsistent in “the walkway are” and “after redevelopment, there are 18 gates … with sky trains are located.” Articles and prepositions need attention as well, as in “on departures side” and “in arrival side.” These errors sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to interpret. Practise accurate present-tense location sentences and use a clear past-to-future contrast, checking each sentence for one complete verb structure.

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.