The two plans below show the layout of a cinema in 1980 and now.
Sample Response
The two plans showare showing the layout of a cinema in 1980 and now, including the locationslocation of the screening theatres, box office, manager’sManager’s office, toilets and car park.
It can be seen that over time the number of screening theatres grew significantly; however, their size has shrunk.
In 1980 there were two screening theatres, CinemasCinema 1 and 2. Cinema 1 was the closest to the entranceentry, on the left. The box office was located on the right near the entrance, with the drinks counter to its right. Further away from the entrance on the right side there were the manager’s office and Cinema 2there was the Manager’s office and Cinema 2. The toilets were located opposite Cinema 2 on the left side of the building, and along the back wall there was a car park.
Quite a few things have changed since 1980. The number of screening theatres increased from two to fivegrew from 2 to 5, with Cinemas 1 and 2 located to the left of the entrance and Cinemas 3, 4 and 5 – to the right. The car park was removedhad to go, to make room for the new theatres. A café opened to the left of the entrance, serving food and drinks, and the old drinks counter next to the box office was converted to a DVD shop. The only things whose locations didn’t change were the box office, the Manager’s office and the toilets.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response gives a clear, well-organized account of both layouts, with an effective overview and accurate coverage of the main additions, removals, and unchanged facilities. Its main limitation is occasional slightly informal or imprecise phrasing, while the content itself is comprehensive. The highest-priority refinement is to use consistently formal map-report language and make the overview mention the loss of the car park alongside the expansion in cinemas.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The report presents a clear overview and accurately describes the principal spatial features and changes in both plans.
Refine the overview by also highlighting the car park’s removal and the addition of customer facilities.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview to the 1980 layout and then the present layout, with effective paragraphing and referencing.
Make the final paragraph slightly more concise by grouping the new cinemas, retail facilities, and unchanged features more explicitly.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied, precise, and well suited to describing locations and changes, with only occasional slightly informal wording.
Replace phrases such as 'had to go' with more formal map-report wording such as 'was removed to accommodate'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex structures is used accurately, and the few minor awkward forms do not impede communication.
Use the simple present in the introduction, such as 'the plans show', for a more concise and conventional opening.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The two plans below show the layout of a cinema in 1980 and now.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.