The plans below show the site of an airport now and how it will look after redevelopment next year.
Sample Response
The diagrams portray what the Southwest Airport looks like now and what the same place would be like a year later when the renovation works will be complete.
Overall, the Southwest Airport will be expanded, and offer far more facilities and better accessibility for passengers after the development work is done.
As the map suggests, the airport now has a single arrival and departure area. The departure area is on the left of the main building and has a check-in counter for passengers and a cafe. The arrival area, on the other hand, does not have such amenities and looks empty. Straight ahead of the arrival area, customs and passport control could be seen. Similarly, passport control and security are located for departing passengers. The airport now has eight gates, two walkways, and check-in areas.
After the development work, which is expected to finish next year, the airport will have eighteen gates, and a sky train inside the airport. New shops will be built, and the departing passengers will have access to bag drop facilities. It will be built where the check-in point is now. Opposite to it, there will be the check-in point. The renovated airport will have more departure and entry points to serve more passengers at a time. It will also have ATMs and cafes for passengers in the arrival area. Finally, a car hire facility will also be included on the right side of the arrival hall.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Name the subject Original: the same place Suggested revision: the airport Why it matters: Repeating the precise subject is clearer than the vague phrase the same place.
- 2. Use future form Original: would be like Suggested revision: will look like Why it matters: The plan describes a stated future redevelopment, so will is appropriate.
- 3. Fix time clause Original: when the renovation works will be complete Suggested revision: when the renovation work is complete Why it matters: A future time clause normally uses the present tense, and work is uncountable here.
- 4. Complete future verb Original: , and offer Suggested revision: and will offer Why it matters: Repeating will creates a grammatically parallel predicate and removes the unnecessary comma.
- 5. Correct hall layout Original: a single arrival and departure area Suggested revision: separate departure and arrival areas Why it matters: The current plan shows distinct departure and arrival halls rather than one combined area.
- 6. Correct current amenity Original: does not have such amenities and looks empty Suggested revision: has a café but no other listed amenities Why it matters: The current arrivals area contains a café, so describing it as empty is inaccurate.
- 7. Use present tense Original: could be seen Suggested revision: can be seen Why it matters: The present tense is required when describing what the current plan shows.
- 8. Show contrast clearly Original: Similarly Suggested revision: For departing passengers, Why it matters: This phrase identifies the other side of the airport more clearly than similarly.
- 9. Fix location phrase Original: are located for departing passengers Suggested revision: are located in the departures area Why it matters: Facilities are located in an area, not located for passengers.
- 10. Use accurate singular Original: check-in areas Suggested revision: one check-in area Why it matters: The current plan shows a single check-in point in departures.
- 11. Remove unnecessary comma Original: eighteen gates, and Suggested revision: eighteen gates and Why it matters: A comma should not separate two coordinated objects in this phrase.
- 12. Clarify pronoun reference Original: It will be built Suggested revision: The bag-drop facility will be built Why it matters: Naming the facility removes the ambiguous pronoun reference.
Suggested Rewrites
- the same place the airport
- would be like will look like
- when the renovation works will be complete when the renovation work is complete
- , and offer and will offer
- a single arrival and departure area separate departure and arrival areas
- does not have such amenities and looks empty has a café but no other listed amenities
Why this response received Band 7.5
The report gives a clear overview and accurately covers nearly all major redevelopment features, including the expanded gate layout, sky train, shops, relocated check-in, bag drop, and new arrivals facilities. Its organisation is strong, though a few references are ambiguous and some descriptions of the current layout are slightly imprecise. The main improvement is to make spatial relationships and pronoun references fully explicit while preserving the effective present-versus-future structure.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
The response provides a clear overview and selects almost all significant changes with accurate supporting detail, despite a few minor imprecisions about the existing layout.
Refine the description of the current terminal and state spatial relationships more exactly rather than using broad claims about accessibility and capacity.
Coherence and Cohesion
The four-paragraph structure supports clear progression from overview to the current airport and then its redevelopment, with only occasional ambiguous referencing.
Replace unclear pronouns such as those in the bag-drop and check-in description with the named facility so every comparison is immediately traceable.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and generally precise for maps and redevelopment, although a few combinations such as entry points and opposite to are less natural.
Use exact spatial and facility terms consistently, including arrivals entrances, opposite, and relocated, to sharpen otherwise effective descriptions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses a varied range of sentence structures with good control, and the occasional tense, punctuation, or reference problem does not impede meaning.
Maintain consistent present forms for the current plan and future forms for redevelopment, while checking comma placement and pronoun agreement.