Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

There are two pictures that are illustrating the current and in future layout of southwest airport respectively.

By starting from the present site of an airport which has two walkways surround by gates, one in front of gate number 1 and other at gate no. 3. However, there are eight gates. Moreover, there are two separate sides one for departure of passengers and other for arrival of them. On the departure side, it has a check-in area on left side and also a cafe on top right corner other than that a security office also while arrival side has no facility except a customs service. In addition, both sides have a passport control counter.

Turning over to the redevelopment look of next year, there are alot of changes like on departure side cafe will shift from top right corner to bottom left corner. Right next to it, there will be a bag drop area and on opposite to that will be a check-in area. In contrast, the arrival side will also have a cafe on top right side, other than that, there will be an ATM before the cafe and on right botton corner there will be a area for passengers from there they can hire a car and reach to their desire place. However, the passposrt control, security and customs counter will remain on same place but there will be some shops also on duty free area.

At last, there will be total 18 gates for reaching to the different destination planes according to their boarding pass with two sky trains to assisst passengers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main transformation clearly: the airport expands from eight gates to eighteen, gains a sky train, and adds facilities such as shops, bag drop, an ATM and car hire. You also compare the departure and arrival areas, so the response covers the key stages. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear. The present layout has a walkway, not “two walkways,” and the future plan shows one central sky train rather than “two sky trains.” The claim that security, customs and passport control remain in the same place is not supported by the plan; security is not shown in the future layout, and the controls are not clearly unchanged. A concise overview of the major changes, followed by more precise location comparisons, would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall sequence: it describes the current airport first, then the redevelopment, and ends with the increase in gates and the transport link. Paragraphing supports this progression, and signposts such as “Moreover,” “Turning over to,” and “At last” help readers follow the comparison. This coherent organisation is a strength. Some linking is mechanical or not quite logical, however: “However” does not establish a clear contrast in the final paragraph, and “In addition” introduces passport control without clarifying how it relates to the preceding facilities. Several long sentences also combine multiple locations and features, making the relationships harder to track. Use more precise spatial links and divide dense descriptions into shorter, clearly focused sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of vocabulary for describing a plan, including “departure side,” “arrival side,” “bag drop area,” “customs service,” and “redevelopment.” These terms generally make the airport features understandable. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “duty free area” and “boarding pass,” although the latter is not needed to describe the map. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or informal: “two walkways surround by gates,” “a area,” and “reach to their desire place” do not express the intended ideas naturally. Spelling errors such as “botton,” “passposrt,” and “assisst” also reduce accuracy. Aim for standard map-description phrases such as “is located,” “is replaced by,” and “the concourse is extended,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex structures, including clauses introduced by “while,” “other than that,” and “which,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, some sentence structures are incomplete or awkward. “By starting from the present site…” is an unsuitable opening construction, while “On the departure side, it has…” has an unclear subject. There are also errors in articles, agreement and verb forms, for example “there will be a area,” “there are alot of changes,” and “cafe will shift.” Punctuation is sometimes used to join several ideas into long sentences, as in the description of the current layout. Practise writing complete subject–verb sentences and check articles and tense consistency when describing present and future plans.

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