The diagram below shows a school now and the plan for the school in 2025
Sample Response
The maps describe the current layout of a school as well as some proposals to its structure for a future year, 2025. Overall, though school facilities such as the main school, sports building and the football court are expected to remain unchanged, more sports areas like basketball and tennis courts are set to be built at the expense of the school playground in 2025. Of a particular note is the addition of new parking lots to the school campus. At present, the school is accessible from the main road to its east, from a parking lot in the north, which accommodates 200 cars. The main school building is sited at the center, flanked by two basketball and four tennis courts to its east and a small canteen and a sports building to its west. There is also a large playground in the southern part of the school campus, with a football field to its south-west. Finally, a row of residential blocks are located across the street from the school. The school campus is expected to see a complete makeover in 2025. While there is only one access point to the school area now, a south entrance leading to a new parking space will be available. A roundabout will be constructed in the north, which will connect the old parking area and a new one holding 20 spaces for staff. Tennis courts in the east are set to be replaced by a new canteen, while the old one will have been converted into a science building. The playground will shrink by a third, giving way to new basketball and tennis courts. #task1 270 words
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Correct collocation Original: proposals to its structure Suggested revision: proposals for its layout Why it matters: Proposals for the layout is the natural phrasing for planned map changes.
- 2. Remove article Original: Of a particular note Suggested revision: Of particular note Why it matters: The fixed expression does not take an article before particular note.
- 3. Correct court count Original: two Suggested revision: three Why it matters: The current map shows three basketball courts.
- 4. Match subject and verb Original: are Suggested revision: is Why it matters: The singular head noun row requires the singular verb is.
- 5. Avoid overstatement Original: complete makeover Suggested revision: several changes Why it matters: Several facilities remain in place, so complete makeover overstates the scale of change.
- 6. Correct access feature Original: a south entrance leading to a new parking space Suggested revision: a new access road leading to the staff parking area Why it matters: The plan shows access via the eastern road and roundabout rather than a new southern entrance.
- 7. Avoid unsupported amount Original: by a third Suggested revision: considerably Why it matters: The diagram shows a smaller playground but does not specify a one-third reduction.
- 8. Delete source tag Original: #task1 270 words Suggested revision: Delete Why it matters: This tag and word-count note are not part of the report.
- 9. Use concise date phrase Original: for a future year, 2025 Suggested revision: for the year 2025 Why it matters: The revision states the planned year directly and concisely.
- 10. Specify the addition Original: addition of new parking lots Suggested revision: addition of a staff car park Why it matters: Only the 20-space staff car park is newly added, while the main car park remains but becomes smaller.
- 11. Use map label Original: field Suggested revision: pitch Why it matters: Football pitch matches the terminology shown in the diagram.
- 12. Use consistent term Original: street Suggested revision: road Why it matters: Road is the term used for this feature in the task diagram.
Suggested Rewrites
- proposals to its structure proposals for its layout
- Of a particular note Of particular note
- two three
- are is
- complete makeover several changes
- a south entrance leading to a new parking space a new access road leading to the staff parking area
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response uses varied, generally precise language and describes many present and planned features in a clear chronological sequence. Its main weakness is factual accuracy: the future parking area has 150 spaces, while the separate 20-space facility is for staff, and the account of entrances and connections is misleading. Prioritise checking spatial relationships and labels carefully before describing each major change.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and many key changes are included, but significant inaccuracies affect the account of parking capacity, access, and the roundabout.
Distinguish the 150-space main parking area from the 20-space staff parking area and describe their exact locations and road connections.
Coherence and Cohesion
The description follows a sensible present-to-future sequence, but the single long paragraph weakens the grouping of detailed information.
Separate the current layout and the 2025 plan into distinct body paragraphs with related changes grouped spatially.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and often effective for locations and changes, though a few expressions such as proposals to its structure and football court are imprecise.
Prefer exact map terms such as proposed changes to the layout, football field, and parking area.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex structures are used flexibly and mostly accurately, with occasional agreement and phrasing errors.
Refine subject-verb agreement and prepositional phrasing, particularly in sentences describing rows of buildings and access from the road.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The diagram below shows a school now and the plan for the school in 2025
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.