The maps below show the village of Stokeford in 1930 and 2010.
Sample Response
The maps compare the structural changesdevelopments and the transformation of a village called StokefordStockford between 1930 and 2010. A glance at the maps reveals that the Stockford village in 1930 had fewer houses and extensiveextended farmland but underwent extensive housing development by 2010witnessed rapid housing development afterwards. As is observed, Stockford village is located east oflocated at the east of the River Stoke. Parallel to this river, the main road connectedhas connected a bridge in the northern endfarthest north-east side of the village in both maps. A few houses on both sides of the road, two shops and a post office on the west side of the road were present in this village in 1930. In additionBesides, an elementary school, a large garden and a connecting road to the bridge were on the east of this village. Two large farmlands were quite visible in the earlierearly map which disappeared in the latter one. The 20102010's map reveals that the post office, the bridge and the primary school remained unaltered, although thethough, the school building was enlarged. The shops disappeared and the garden with many of its trees was partly clearedcompromised to build more housingaccommodation facilities. The large house was converted to a retirement home with some extension to its structure. MoreoverOn top of that, the number of houses increased remarkably and these houses were built on the previously existing farmlands and garden.
Why this response received Band 7.5
The response gives a clear overview and accurately covers nearly all major changes, especially the extensive housing development and the conversion of the large house into a retirement home. Its main limitation is presentation: the entire report forms one dense paragraph, while several collocations and prepositions are unnatural. The highest priority is to divide the comparison into purposeful paragraphs and refine location language.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and accurate selection of the principal changes provide strong coverage of both maps.
Add a little more precise comparison of the new road layout and the distribution of housing in 2010.
Coherence and Cohesion
Information progresses logically from the overview through the earlier layout to the later changes, despite being presented as one paragraph.
Use separate body paragraphs for the 1930 features and the 2010 transformations to make the comparison easier to follow.
Lexical Resource
A good range of vocabulary describes development and change, though choices such as 'extended farmland' and 'compromised' are not fully natural.
Prefer precise map-reporting collocations such as 'extensive farmland,' 'redeveloped,' and 'converted into housing.'
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Varied sentence structures are generally well controlled, with occasional article, tense, punctuation, and preposition errors.
Review prepositions and noun phrases, particularly forms such as 'to the east of,' 'in the northeast,' and 'the 2010 map.'
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The maps below show the village of Stokeford in 1930 and 2010.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.