The maps below shows a plan of a city in 1950 and at the present.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 1 question on IELTSX. The maps below shows a plan of a city in 1950 and at the present.

Plan City 1950 and Present - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Writing Task 1 chart for Plan City 1950 and Present
Chart supplied with the IELTS Writing Task 1 question: Plan City 1950 and Present

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 6.5 ยท 188 words.

The two maps show the transformation of the city plan in 1950 and at the present time.

Overall, the urban area has undergone considerable transitions in its layout and at present time serves as full fledged metropolis.

The city used to offer only minimal number of amenities for citizens in 1950. There was a river alongside the central area, with an acrossing bridge over it approximately in the middle and the government building located next to it. The residential area was situated in the northern part of the city, while the business district was below that. The airport occupied south - eastern corner and a pair of crossing major roads existed.

Since then, the metropolis has transformed significantly with substantial amount of expansions. While the central bridge and major roads remained intact, there is one more larger bridge and a road coming from southern - west side added. Additionally, there is now a lake and a dam alongside the river. The business district now occupies the whole middle part and the residential area has been expanded. There is one more authorities building at the bottom and airport expansion.

Examiner feedback

This is a solid response that clearly communicates the major changes between the two maps. The overview is effective, and the structure is logical; however, improvements in grammatical precision and more varied vocabulary for describing urban development would elevate the score.

Task Achievement - 7

- The response covers all the key requirements of the task, identifying major changes in the city layout. - A clear overview is provided in the second paragraph, characterizing the overall change as a transition to a metropolis. - Key features like the addition of a dam, lake, and airport expansion are clearly highlighted, though some specific details like the second bridge's location could be more precise.

Coherence & Cohesion - 7

- Information is logically organized with a clear chronological progression from 1950 to the present. - Cohesive devices such as 'While', 'Additionally', and 'Since then' are used effectively to link ideas. - Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the two time periods, though more internal referencing could enhance flow.

Lexical Resource - 6

- The vocabulary is generally adequate with some good attempts at variety like 'undergone considerable transitions' and 'full fledged metropolis'. - There are some inaccuracies in word choice and formation, such as 'acrossing' instead of 'cross-river' and 'authorities building' instead of 'government building'. - Some repetition of 'area' and 'expanded' limits the score to a 6.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 6

- A mix of simple and complex sentence forms is used, generally with good control. - Notable errors include 'acrossing bridge' and 'southern - west side', which are slightly non-standard. - Punctuation is generally correct, but some phrasing like 'with substantial amount of expansions' lacks the necessary articles.

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