Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-25

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 4.5)

The plans below show the site of an airport now and how it will look after redevelopment next year . They start the view of southwest airport now and compare from after development . They are now facilitec low as well as the after facelities is high . The walking area is small . the after development area is big . The now southwest airport the ability of security and passport control as well as customs . They are the coffee area and other facilites to departures and arrivals . the after development southwest airport to the departures in shops and security passport control cafe area as well as check-in counter and arrivals in passport control customs area and cafe as well as atm machine and car hire . They are 1 to 18 gates in after development airport and 1to 8 now airport they are very difference in after and before airport.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the broad comparison between the airport now and after redevelopment, and correctly note the increase from 1–8 to 1–18 gates. You also mention several planned additions, including shops, an ATM and car hire. However, the response gives only a limited account of the plans and does not clearly summarise the main changes: for example, the concourse’s Y-shaped extension and the central sky train are omitted, while some existing features are described vaguely. The overview that the area is “small” now and “big” later is too general to explain the redevelopment. The response is 134 words, below the required 150; 19 words copied from the prompt were excluded from the count. Develop the key spatial changes and compare the two layouts more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 3.5

There is a basic attempt to compare the two stages, with phrases such as “now” and “after development” helping the reader recognise the topic. However, the ideas are presented as one continuous paragraph without a clear overview or organised grouping of changes. The repeated pattern “They are…” does not show how the details relate, and the sequence moves between facilities, areas and gate numbers without a clear progression. Some references, such as “They” and “the after development area,” are difficult to interpret. Separate the response into an overview and focused paragraphs—for example, one on the concourse and gates, and another on changes inside departures and arrivals—and use clear links such as “By contrast” and “In addition.”

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses some relevant airport vocabulary, including “departures,” “arrivals,” “passport control,” “customs,” “gates,” “ATM” and “car hire,” so the reader can identify several features. However, the range is basic and repetitive, and some word choices make the meaning unclear. Phrases such as “They start the view,” “compare from after development” and “the ability of security” are not natural ways to describe a plan. There are also spelling and word-form problems, including “facilitec” and “facelities.” Use precise location and change vocabulary, such as “is situated,” “is relocated,” “is extended” and “is replaced by,” and check spelling carefully. This would make the description clearer and more suitable for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt to form connected sentences and use some basic present-tense descriptions, but grammatical control is weak and the sentence patterns are very limited. For example, “They start the view of southwest airport now” has an unclear subject and structure, while “They are very difference” uses an incorrect grammatical form. Articles and sentence boundaries are also inconsistent, as in “the now southwest airport” and the long final sentence, which joins several ideas without clear punctuation. These errors often make relationships between features difficult to follow. Practise writing short, complete comparison sentences with a clear subject and verb, such as “The current terminal has eight gates, whereas the redeveloped airport will have eighteen.” Then check articles, verb forms and punctuation.

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

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