The diagrams below show changes that have taken place in the Sawry District neighbourhood since 1920.
Sample Response
This pair of maps depicts the changesdepicts change over the course of a century in the Sawry District neighborhood by showing the area in 1920 and 2020.
The overall change in the neighborhood is one of growth. By 2020 there are more businesses, more housing, and more extensive public servicesgreater public services. However, not all businesses and services remained intact after 1920.
Businesses and housing underwent the greatest changesBusiness and housing saw the most change and growth. The cannery present in 1920 was replaced by an office complex. Two of the houses near the Elmwood River were demolished and replaced by a road and an apartment complex. Oak Avenue went from having two houses and a shop to having three houses, two shops, two apartment buildings, and a petrol stationtwo shops, an apartment complex, and a petrol station.
The change in public services was less significant than the change in housing and businesses. Prestwich Primary School was relocated and rebuilt as a larger schooldemolished and then rebuilt as a bigger school, closer to the shops on Oak AvenueOak Street’s shops. And Elmwood River gained a bridge and a bike path, the latter of which replaced the small beach seen on the 1920 map.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response is strongest in its clear overview and logically grouped account of the neighbourhood's development, supported by precise, fluent language. Its main limitation is that a few visual details are incomplete or omitted, particularly the second apartment building on Oak Avenue, the reduction in trees, and the unchanged lake. A more systematic comparison of every major area would make the description fully comprehensive.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response presents a clear overview and accurately covers most major changes, though a few relevant features are omitted or incompletely quantified.
Check each map area systematically and include the second Oak Avenue apartment building, the loss of trees, and the unchanged lake.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview to grouped comparisons of commercial, residential, and public-service changes.
Refine the final paragraph's opening transition so that the progression remains fully polished rather than beginning with an added point introduced by 'And'.
Lexical Resource
Vocabulary is varied and precise, with effective choices such as 'depicts', 'demolished', 'office complex', and 'the latter'.
Reduce repetition of broad words such as 'change', 'growth', and 'businesses' by using more specific comparative phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A wide range of complex sentence structures is used accurately and naturally, with very strong control throughout.
Maintain the same control while varying sentence openings further and integrating the final river comparison into the preceding sentence more smoothly.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The diagrams below show changes that have taken place in the Sawry District neighbourhood since 1920.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.