The Map of a City in 1950 and now.
Sample Response
There are two maps available for a city for two different years, such as for 1950 and for now. It illustrates the difference between what was before and now in five criteria such as business district, residential area, government building, major road and bridge.
In 1950, the city population was 20,000 while it is 200,000 now, which is ten times than 1950. With the increase of population, other constructions are also expanding than before. We can easily identify that in 1950 the only north side of the river had a business district and residential area available, and only one government building was there in Southside.
At the current time, the river water is conserved by manufacturing a dam on the east side and making a lake to utilize the water. Both north and south side business districts and residential areas are available now. Now there are two main roads to connect the north and south regions and two government buildings in the south zone while in 1950 both were only one for each.
The business district becomes a central part of the city, and residential areas cover it from all sides. The airport area also expands almost 3 times than before to handle the rise of the population. Now south zone also has the road from the west to the central zone.
In conclusion, there has been a major change in the last five decades and high increases of a residential area.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Fix time phrase Original: such as for 1950 and for now Suggested revision: 1950 and the present Why it matters: The phrase needs a concise parallel comparison between the two time points.
- 2. Match plural subject Original: It illustrates Suggested revision: They illustrate Why it matters: The plural noun maps requires the pronoun and verb to be plural.
- 3. Use accurate noun Original: criteria Suggested revision: features Why it matters: Criteria are standards for judging, whereas the listed items are map features.
- 4. Fix comparison form Original: ten times than 1950 Suggested revision: ten times the 1950 figure Why it matters: Multiplicative comparisons use times followed directly by the comparison noun phrase.
- 5. Fix word order Original: the only north side of the river Suggested revision: only the north side of the river Why it matters: Only should modify the location phrase rather than the noun side.
- 6. Fix location phrase Original: in Southside Suggested revision: on the south side Why it matters: The map location requires the phrase on the south side.
- 7. Fix paired location Original: Both north and south side Suggested revision: On both the north and south sides, Why it matters: Both locations need the plural sides and a complete prepositional phrase.
- 8. Describe mapped presence Original: are available now Suggested revision: are now present Why it matters: Present more naturally describes features shown on a map.
- 9. Identify bridges accurately Original: two main roads to connect Suggested revision: two bridges connecting Why it matters: The current map shows two river crossings marked as bridges, not two main roads.
- 10. Fix map location Original: in the south zone Suggested revision: on the south side Why it matters: On the south side is the natural form for this map location.
- 11. Repair comparison clause Original: both were only one for each Suggested revision: there was only one of each Why it matters: The replacement supplies a grammatical existential comparison with 1950.
- 12. Use present perfect Original: becomes Suggested revision: has become Why it matters: The present perfect describes a change from 1950 to the present.
Suggested Rewrites
- such as for 1950 and for now 1950 and the present
- It illustrates They illustrate
- criteria features
- ten times than 1950 ten times the 1950 figure
- the only north side of the river only the north side of the river
- in Southside on the south side
Why this response received Band 6.0
The response identifies several major changes and supports them with relevant map details, particularly the population growth, new lake and dam, expanded development south of the river, and additional infrastructure. However, its overview is too general, and some descriptions are imprecise or potentially unsupported, while frequent awkward collocations and comparison forms reduce accuracy. Prioritize a clear overview of the city's overall expansion and reorganize details into precise, map-based comparisons.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response covers many important changes accurately, but the overview is vague and some claims are imprecise or insufficiently grounded in the maps.
Summarize the dominant expansion across the river and the addition of the lake, dam, roads, and bridge before giving precise spatial details.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the earlier city to the present layout, although paragraphing and repeated use of now make the organisation somewhat mechanical.
Group all 1950 features together and all present-day changes together, using varied referencing rather than repeatedly starting sentences with now.
Lexical Resource
There is adequate vocabulary for describing maps and change, but frequent unsuitable collocations such as manufacturing a dam and high increases reduce precision.
Use standard map-description phrases such as constructed a dam, expanded substantially, and ten times the earlier population.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures conveys the main meaning, but comparison forms, articles, agreement, and prepositions are frequently inaccurate.
Check comparative structures and noun phrases carefully, especially ten times the 1950 figure, larger than before, and the south side.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The Map of a City in 1950 and now.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.