The maps below show the plan of a small school in 1980 and 2010.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 1 question on IELTSX. The maps below show the plan of a small school in 1980 and 2010.

Plan of a small school in 1980 and 2010 - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Writing Task 1 chart for Plan of a small school in 1980 and 2010
Chart supplied with the IELTS Writing Task 1 question: Plan of a small school in 1980 and 2010

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 7 · 153 words.

The maps illustrate the changes that were made to the plan of a small school between 1980 and 2010.

Overall, the school’s layout was simple and had few facilities; however, following the redevelopment, the school site became more advanced, accommodating a wider range of educational and leisure facilities for children.

In 1980, the school had a simple layout. There was a main road that ran from the bottom to the middle of the map. The central area was occupied by the school, while a garden with trees was located on the right side. The school consisted of three seminar rooms, a library and an office.

By 2010, the school site had expanded significantly. Although the school building remained in its original position, a car park and an IT centre with a library were built on the site of the tree garden. The number of seminar rooms increased, but their sizes became slightly smaller.

Examiner feedback

The response effectively compares the two maps of the school, presenting a clear overview and highlighting key changes between 1980 and 2010. It demonstrates a solid command of grammar and organization, though expanding the lexical range and providing even more detailed spatial descriptions would elevate the score further.

Task Achievement - 7

- The response covers all key requirements of the task, comparing the two maps of the school between 1980 and 2010. - An appropriate overview is presented, highlighting the expansion and addition of new facilities like the car park and IT centre. - Key features from both maps are selected and described adequately, supported by relevant spatial details.

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Paragraphs are logically structured with a clear introduction, overview, and body paragraphs detailing the two time periods. - Cohesive devices are used appropriately, though some transitions between sentences are a bit basic. - The progression from the overall changes to specific details is well-maintained and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource - 6

- Vocabulary is adequate and appropriate for describing spatial changes, using terms like 'redevelopment', 'layout', and 'expanded'. - Some minor limitations in range, but words are chosen with reasonable precision for a map comparison task. - Collocations are mostly natural, such as 'school site' and 'main road'.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 7

- A good mix of simple and complex sentence forms is used effectively to describe map changes. - Sentences are generally well-controlled with accurate past tense usage for historical comparisons. - Punctuation and sentence boundaries are handled correctly throughout the response.

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