The two maps below show an island, before and after the construction of some tourist facilities.
Sample Response
The maps depict an island before and after some renovation works for tourists and compares the changed on the island for the constructions. Generally speaking, many new facilities have been constructed for tourists, including accommodations, restaurant, swimming facilities etc. and those have been built without affecting the natural resources that much. Before the facilities were constructed, there was only trees and beach on the island and most of the places were empty. In this island, many new tourists’ facilities have been made including accommodation facilities, restaurant, reception centre, pier for boating, swimming facility on the beach and so on. Interestingly plants and trees were not cut down to build these constructions and most of the constructions were made near the beach. Besides, footpaths and roads for commuting have been built to facilitate the tourists. The footpaths were made to walk between the residing places and the beach while the motor tracks were created to visit the restaurant, reception area, and pier for boating. In summary, the construction was mainly made to facilitate the tourists' stay, visit and amusement and for that, no plants or trees were cut.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use map wording Original: renovation works Suggested revision: development work Why it matters: The maps show new construction rather than renovation of existing buildings.
- 2. Match plural subject Original: and compares Suggested revision: and compare Why it matters: The plural subject 'maps' requires the base-form verb 'compare'.
- 3. Use noun form Original: the changed Suggested revision: the changes Why it matters: A plural noun is required after 'the'.
- 4. Clarify cause Original: for the constructions Suggested revision: resulting from the construction Why it matters: This phrase clearly links the changes to the development work.
- 5. Use uncountable noun Original: accommodations Suggested revision: accommodation Why it matters: 'Accommodation' is normally uncountable when referring collectively to lodging.
- 6. Complete the list Original: restaurant, swimming facilities etc. Suggested revision: a restaurant and a swimming area Why it matters: Articles and a complete conjunction make the list grammatical and precise.
- 7. Improve reference Original: those have been built Suggested revision: these were built Why it matters: 'These' refers more directly to the newly listed facilities.
- 8. Use precise wording Original: natural resources that much Suggested revision: most of the island's vegetation Why it matters: The map depicts trees and plants rather than natural resources generally.
- 9. Fix agreement and articles Original: there was only trees and beach Suggested revision: there were only trees and a beach Why it matters: The plural noun requires 'were', and singular 'beach' needs an article.
- 10. Refer to land Original: most of the places Suggested revision: most of its land Why it matters: 'Land' describes the undeveloped area more naturally than 'places'.
- 11. Correct preposition Original: In this island Suggested revision: On this island Why it matters: English uses 'on' for location on an island.
- 12. Use noun modifier Original: tourists’ facilities Suggested revision: tourist facilities Why it matters: The singular attributive noun 'tourist' correctly modifies 'facilities'.
Suggested Rewrites
- renovation works development work
- and compares and compare
- the changed the changes
- for the constructions resulting from the construction
- accommodations accommodation
- restaurant, swimming facilities etc. a restaurant and a swimming area
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response identifies the main transformation from an undeveloped island to a tourist resort and mentions nearly all major facilities and transport links. Its strongest feature is broad visual coverage, but repeated generalisations and limited location detail make the comparison less precise, while language errors recur. The highest-priority improvement is to organise the report into clear before-and-after detail groups with accurate spatial relationships.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Detailed feedback by IELTS writing criterion after the annotated essay.
Task Achievement
A clear overview and broad coverage identify the resort facilities, swimming area and transport routes, although their exact locations and arrangement are not fully developed.
Describe the two accommodation clusters and locate the restaurant, reception, pier and swimming beach relative to one another.
Coherence and Cohesion
The information progresses from the overall change to facilities and access routes, but one long paragraph and repeated summary points weaken the organisation.
Separate the overview from two focused detail paragraphs, grouping buildings in one and paths, vehicle tracks and coastal access in the other.
Lexical Resource
The response uses an adequate range for maps and development, but repeated words and awkward phrases such as compares the changed and residing places reduce precision.
Use natural map language such as underwent development, accommodation huts, vehicle track and remained unchanged.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Meaning remains clear through a mixture of sentence forms, but errors with agreement, plurals, articles and word forms occur regularly.
Proofread each noun and verb phrase, especially there were, changes, accommodation, a restaurant and the facilities were constructed.