Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-02

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 DAGRAM COMPARES THE AIRPORT PLAN BEFORE AND AFTER DEVELOPMENT.

IMAGE INDICATES THAT MANY CHANGES HAD TOOK PLACE. BEFORE DEVELOPMENT THERE WAS NO ATM, BAG DROP, CARE HIRE AND SHOPS AS COMPARED TO THE PRESENT PLAN OF AIRPORT. DESIGN OF GATES WAS ALSO MODIFIED. WALKWAY WAS REPLACED BY SKY TRAINS.

BEFORE THE MODIFICATIONS THERE WAS ONLY A CHECK IN COUNTER AND CAFE ON DEPARTURE SIDE ALON WITH SECURITY PASSPORT CONTROL.ON ARRIVAL SIDE THERE WAS ONLY PASSPORT CONTROL CUSTOM WITHOUT ANY OTHER SHOP. MOREOVER, THERE WAS A WALKWAY AND NUMBER OF GATES ARE LIMITED. THERE WAS ONLY 8 GATES OF AIRPORT AFTER THE DEVELOPMENT OCCURED, NUMBER OF GATES WERE INCREASED TO 18 AND THEIR DESIGN WAS ALSO CHANGED. NEW SHOPS WERE OPEN AND THE NUMBER OF DIFFERENT COUNTERS WERE BUILT. ON DEPARTURE SIDE THERE WERE BAG DROP, CAFE AND CHECK IN STATIONS. ON ARRIVAL SIDE THERE WERE CAFE, ATM AND CARE HIRE COUNTERS. SKY TRAIN HAD TAKEN PLACE OF WALKWAY.

OVERALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF AIRPORT WAS TOTALLY CHANED AND MADE IT MORE FLEXIBLE AND COMFORTABLE FOR THE VISITORS BY PROVIDING NUMEROUS FACILITIES.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the main transformation: the gate capacity rises from eight to eighteen, the concourse changes shape, and new facilities are added. You also compare the departure and arrival areas, so the response addresses the task and includes a clear overall statement about redevelopment. Some details, however, are inaccurate or too general: the walkway is not simply replaced by a sky train, as the train runs centrally along the extended concourse; and “number of different counters” does not specify the key changes in location, such as check-in moving to the inner wall and car hire occupying a new area on the far right. The overview is relevant, but claims such as “totally changed” and “more comfortable” are broad rather than map-based. More precise spatial comparisons would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable structure, moving from an opening statement to a comparison of the two plans and then an overall conclusion. This gives the reader a basic route through the information. However, progression within the main paragraph is not always clear: the account shifts from facilities to gates and back to counters, while repeated phrases such as “before the development” and “on departure side” make the links mechanical. The final overview repeats the idea that the airport changed rather than synthesising the most important changes. Organise the details by area or by major change—for example, first the concourse and gates, then departures, then arrivals—and use clearer references to distinguish the two plans.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant airport vocabulary, including “passport control,” “gates,” “walkway,” “bag drop” and “ATM,” which helps communicate the map’s subject. There is also some attempt at more formal reporting language, such as “modified” and “infrastructure.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward: “care hire” for “car hire,” “number of different counters were built,” and “sky trains” where the plan shows a sky train. Repetition of “there was” and “number” also limits flexibility, while “totally changed” and “comfortable for the visitors” are imprecise interpretations rather than neutral descriptions. Aim for exact location and change vocabulary, such as “was relocated,” “was added,” and “the concourse was extended.” Check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple statements and longer comparisons, and the main meaning is generally recoverable. However, control is inconsistent, particularly in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries. For example, “many changes had took place” should use a correct past form, while “number of gates were increased” has an agreement problem and an awkward passive construction. In “there was only 8 gates,” the plural noun also requires a different verb form. Several clauses run together, as in “PASSPORT CONTROL.ON ARRIVAL SIDE,” and punctuation is often missing or misplaced. These errors sometimes make relationships between ideas harder to follow. Practise accurate past-tense descriptions and build longer sentences with clear conjunctions and punctuation, while retaining the simple structures you handle more successfully.

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