Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-04

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)

This is the diagram of the airport development plan,which shows present day and future picture.It is showing changes in main features and comparing them with each other.

It can be seen that many changes are proposed to be made.There are various new things and features are added.First of all,the number of gates are doubled to make airport vast and rush free and the walkways are replaced by the sky trains.

Now, the section of Security passport Control have only cafe and check-in sub sections in it.The Passport Control Customs is completely empty and have no other utilization of space.Whereas,after development it would have addition of bag drop and cafe,atm,car hire respectively.Addition of cafe can be seen in both sides.Also the departure and arrival gates would be twice after the redevelopment.

At the end, I can say that the desired structure of airport is much compatible,better and people friendly than the present one.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad changes, especially the increase from 8 to 18 gates and the addition of facilities such as a sky train, bag drop, ATM and car hire. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the gates increase to 18, rather than being “doubled,” and the walkway is not simply replaced by sky trains; the new plan shows a sky train along the extended concourse. The description of the current terminal is also confused: security and passport control are not sections containing only a café and check-in, and the current arrivals area is not empty. Your final claim that the redevelopment will be “people friendly” is an unsupported evaluation. A clearer overview and more accurate account of the main layout changes would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic sequence: an introduction, a description of changes, and a concluding comment. Linking expressions such as “First of all,” “Whereas,” and “At the end” help signal movement between points. However, the progression is not consistently clear because several features are grouped together without a clear comparison of the current and future plans. For example, the paragraph beginning “Now, the section of Security passport Control” shifts between departures, arrivals and future additions, making the locations difficult to follow. The conclusion repeats a general judgement rather than summarising the main changes. Organise the body by area or by comparing each plan, and use clearer references to the two stages.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant task vocabulary, including “gates,” “walkways,” “bag drop,” “ATM” and “redevelopment,” so the reader can recognise the topic. However, the range is limited and several choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “future picture,” “rush free,” “other utilization of space” and “compatible, better and people friendly.” Some labels are also combined in ways that obscure their meaning, as in “Security passport Control.” Aim for precise terms for locations and changes, and avoid evaluative language that is not shown by the plans. More accurate collocations and a wider range of verbs for describing layout changes would make the account clearer and more suitable for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple statements and longer sentences with contrast, as in “Whereas, after development it would have addition of bag drop and cafe, atm, car hire respectively.” However, control is uneven, and errors in agreement, articles, tense and sentence construction sometimes make the relationships between features unclear. For example, “the number of gates are doubled” should use a singular verb, while “the Passport Control Customs is completely empty and have” contains agreement problems. The opening also has a run-on structure and missing spaces after punctuation. Practise forming accurate comparisons between the present and future plans, and check subject–verb agreement, articles and sentence boundaries when editing.

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