The maps below show the town of Langley in 1910 and 1950.
Sample Response
The layouts demonstrate the modifications done in a city named Langley from 1910 to 1950. Overall, townhouses, factories, wastelands, and railway lines along with the cottages were either removed, or they got replaced.
Firstly, the townhouses on Jordan Street in 1910 got substituted by the newly constructed Flats in 1950. Moreover, the factory got replaced with magnificent Sherman Mansions, and the laundry and café were shifted in 1950 to the wasteland right next to the factory from the 1910 map.
Furthermore, a new street named New Lane was introduced in 1950, and the only store present in the city in 1910 was shifted to the right side was that lane along with the addition of two new stores; earlier, this place consisted of railway cottages, café and laundry place.
Lastly, the houses on Sherman Street, wasteland along with the railway cottages on its right and the railway line got replaced by Sherman park, which had a children’s play area and a pond in it.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Name visuals accurately Original: layouts Suggested revision: maps Why it matters: Maps is the precise term for the two visual plans.
- 2. Use natural collocation Original: modifications done Suggested revision: changes made Why it matters: Changes made is the natural collocation for alterations to a town.
- 3. Match task wording Original: a city named Langley Suggested revision: the town of Langley Why it matters: The task identifies Langley as a town.
- 4. Complete either-or pair Original: , or they got replaced Suggested revision: or replaced Why it matters: The parallel structure should read were either removed or replaced without a comma.
- 5. Use passive form Original: got substituted by Suggested revision: were replaced by Why it matters: The formal passive construction is clearer and grammatically appropriate here.
- 6. Lowercase common noun Original: Flats Suggested revision: flats Why it matters: Flats is a common noun in the map label and should not be capitalized mid-sentence.
- 7. Capitalize place name Original: park Suggested revision: Park Why it matters: Both words in the named park require capitalization.
- 8. Use singular feature Original: factories Suggested revision: the factory Why it matters: The 1910 map shows one factory rather than multiple factories.
- 9. Use singular feature Original: railway lines Suggested revision: the railway line Why it matters: The 1910 map shows a single railway line.
- 10. Name cottages precisely Original: along with the cottages Suggested revision: and the railway workers' cottages Why it matters: The map labels these buildings as railway workers' cottages.
- 11. Fix passive construction Original: factory got replaced with Suggested revision: factory was replaced by Why it matters: Replaced by is the correct passive construction for the new building.
- 12. Clarify list structure Original: wasteland along with Suggested revision: the wasteland, together with Why it matters: The article and commas make the compound list grammatically clear.
Suggested Rewrites
- layouts maps
- modifications done changes made
- a city named Langley the town of Langley
- , or they got replaced or replaced
- got substituted by were replaced by
- Flats flats
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response identifies the major redevelopment accurately and covers most important replacements, including the flats, Sherman Mansions, New Lane, the stores, and Sherman Park. Its paragraph sequence is easy to follow, but mechanical linking, awkward wording, and a poorly controlled long sentence reduce clarity. The highest priority is to express each location change in a shorter, grammatically complete sentence with precise spatial language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and generally accurate details describe most major changes between 1910 and 1950, although the overall transformation could be characterized more fully.
Strengthen the overview by summarizing the shift from industrial and railway land to residential, commercial, and recreational uses.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response follows a logical sequence and uses clear paragraphing, but the repeated sequence markers and one overloaded sentence make cohesion somewhat mechanical.
Group changes by area and use fewer formulaic links, splitting the New Lane and store description into two focused sentences.
Lexical Resource
There is sufficient range for the task, including 'substituted,' 'introduced,' and 'consisted of,' but some choices are imprecise or unnecessarily subjective.
Use neutral map language such as 'was replaced by' and 'was relocated' instead of repetitive 'got replaced' or subjective wording such as 'magnificent.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses both simple and complex forms, but errors in clause structure, articles, capitalization, and coordination recur and occasionally disrupt reading.
Control relative and passive clauses more carefully, especially by rewriting 'was shifted to the right side was that lane' as a complete and correctly ordered sentence.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The maps below show the town of Langley in 1910 and 1950.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.