The maps below describe the city in 1960 and now.
Sample Response
The two maps depictare describing the same city, in 1960 and at present. The main features Deletethat can be seen are the residential and business districts, roads, a river, an airport and a government building.
It is clear that with the passage of time the population has grown tenfold and the amenities and infrastructure have developedthe amenities and infrastructure developed in a very significant way.
In 1960 both the business district and the residential area around it were relatively small, as was the airport, located to the east of the city along a major road that crossed the cityalong a major road, crossing the city from west to east. Another major road ran through the city from south to north and there was a small bridge over thea river. There was a government building on the riverbank, next to the bridge.
Since 1960 the business district has spread out to an area at least four times its former sizeat least 4 times what it was before, and the residential district has quadrupled in size. The airport has experienced significant growtha significant growth as well, in line with the increase in population to 200,000. The river has been diverted into a man-made lake with a dam in the heart of the city, with the business and residential areas around it to the north and the south. A longer bridge now connects the lake’s shores. In addition to the two roads that criss-crossed the city before, a new road was built and another, smaller building for government officials was added in the business district.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response gives a clear overview and a detailed, well-organised comparison, accurately capturing the tenfold population rise, expansion of the districts and airport, lake and dam, extra road, and added government building. Its main limitation is occasional imprecision in quantified size changes and a few awkward collocations, so the highest priority is to describe visually supported changes more cautiously and with more natural comparative phrasing.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response provides a clear overview and accurately covers nearly all major changes shown on the maps.
Avoid assigning exact multiples to changes in area when the maps provide no numerical scale.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information is logically divided between the overview, the earlier city and the present city, with smooth progression.
Make the final comparative paragraph even easier to scan by grouping transport changes separately from land-use changes.
Lexical Resource
A wide range of precise map language is used effectively, though a few collocations and comparative phrases are awkward.
Prefer natural forms such as grew significantly and expanded to roughly four times its former size.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
The response uses varied complex structures with strong control and only occasional non-impeding errors.
Refine article use and modifier placement in phrases such as experienced significant growth and the road crossing the city.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The maps below describe the city in 1960 and now.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.