The plans below show a theatre in 2010 and 2012.
Sample Response
The above floor plan delineates a theatre in 2010 and in 2012 after renovations. Looking from an overall perspective, it is readily apparent that there was a general expansion of facilities allowing for both more customer-oriented business and staff activity.
In 2010, the smaller theater was centred around a large auditorium (unchanged in 2012) with a large dressing room space behind it and a storage area in the top right corner. By 2012, the storage room had moved to the bottom left corner in favour of an administration office, while the dressing room was repositioned to a smaller room in a new wing of the building on the left side, which also includes a room for showers. Replacing the long dressing room is a coordination area.
Near to the entrance, there is now a large restaurant occupying previously empty space and requiring the relocation of the admin and ticket offices (the former is now to the right of the office, displacing a cafe). The main door has remained the same and there are no other alterations since 2010.
IELTS Writing Correction
- 1. Use plural noun Original: plan Suggested revision: plans Why it matters: The response describes two plans, so the noun should be plural.
- 2. Use precise wording Original: customer-oriented business Suggested revision: customer-facing services Why it matters: This phrase more accurately describes facilities such as the restaurant and ticket office.
- 3. Name the facilities Original: activity Suggested revision: facilities Why it matters: The map shows physical facilities rather than an abstract increase in activity.
- 4. Keep British spelling Original: theater Suggested revision: theatre Why it matters: British spelling is more consistent with the task wording and the rest of the response.
- 5. Describe relocation precisely Original: storage room had moved Suggested revision: storage room had been relocated Why it matters: Rooms are more naturally described as being relocated in a map comparison.
- 6. Avoid inaccurate generalisation Original: there are no other alterations since 2010 Suggested revision: the stage and auditorium also remained unchanged Why it matters: The visual supports these specific unchanged features, whereas the broad claim overlooks several alterations.
- 7. Sentence rewrite Original: Near to the entrance, there is now a large restaurant occupying previously empty space and requiring the relocation of the admin and ticket offices (the former is now to the right of the office, displacing a cafe). Suggested revision: Near the entrance, a large restaurant now occupies previously empty space, while the admin office moved to the upper right and the ticket office replaced the cafe on the lower right. Why it matters: The revision removes the unclear reference to 'the former' and states both relocations accurately.
- 8. Sharpen the overview Suggested revision: Specify that the theatre expanded on both sides and that new customer and staff facilities were added while several rooms were relocated. Why it matters: These are the clearest overall structural changes shown by the two plans.
Suggested Rewrites
- plan plans
- customer-oriented business customer-facing services
- activity facilities
- theater theatre
- storage room had moved storage room had been relocated
- there are no other alterations since 2010 the stage and auditorium also remained unchanged
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response provides a clear overview and covers nearly all major spatial changes, with particularly effective comparison of the relocated storage and dressing facilities. Its main limitation is occasional imprecision in describing the offices and the removal of the cafe, which makes one late comparison hard to follow. The highest-priority improvement is to state each 2012 location directly and pair it explicitly with what occupied that space in 2010.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and detailed coverage capture most major changes accurately, although the final office and cafe comparison is imprecise.
Clarify that the administration office replaced storage and the ticket office replaced the cafe, while avoiding the unsupported claim that there were no other alterations.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overall transformation to changes at the rear and then those near the entrance.
Make the final parenthetical comparison a direct sentence so that each relocated facility and its former position are immediately clear.
Lexical Resource
The response uses a wide and generally precise range of vocabulary for spatial change, with only occasional awkward wording.
Replace vague phrases such as customer-oriented business and the former is now to the right of the office with exact location language.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of complex structures is used with strong control, and the few awkward constructions do not impede meaning overall.
Refine reference words and prepositional phrases in the final paragraph so that complex comparisons remain grammatically transparent.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The plans below show a theatre in 2010 and 2012.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.