# IELTS Writing Task 1 map A map task usually gives two plans of the same place at different times, and your report describes what was built, removed, converted or kept. The examiner looks for a clear overview of the main changes, the key developments selected and located accurately, comparisons between the two maps, and no details that the maps do not show. ## Structure 1. **Introduction**: Paraphrase the prompt: which place the maps show and the two years. Openers: The maps illustrate the changes that took place in ... between ... and ... / The two maps compare the layout of ... in ... and ... / The maps show how ... changed from ... to ... 2. **Overview**: Sum up the overall character of the change and mention what stayed the same. Openers: Overall, the area was transformed from ... into ... / The most noticeable change is that ... / While several features were replaced, ... 3. **Body 1**: Describe the changes in one part of the map (for example, the north), giving locations. Openers: In the northern half of the town, ... / The most dramatic change occurred in ... / Starting in the north-west, ... 4. **Body 2**: Describe the changes in the other part, including features that were kept. Openers: The southern part of the town saw ... / To the south of ..., ... / Elsewhere, ... ## Key language ### Change vocabulary - **be demolished / knocked down**: The factory was demolished. - **be replaced by / make way for**: The car park made way for a shopping centre. - **be converted into**: The post office was converted into a café. - **be pedestrianised**: Main Street was pedestrianised. - **be relocated / remain unchanged**: The bus station remained unchanged. ### The passive in the past - **was / were + past participle**: Apartments were built on the site of the factory. - **had been + past participle (by a date)**: By 2025, a library had been constructed in the park. - **no agent needed**: The houses were cleared. (not "They cleared the houses.") ### Location - **in the north-west corner**: A car park stood in the north-west corner in 2000. - **next to / adjacent to**: The café is adjacent to the shopping centre. - **to the south of / directly below**: The apartments are directly south of the shops. ## The task The maps below show changes to the centre of Westbridge, a small town, between 2000 and 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. Westbridge town centre, 2000 and 2025 (north is at the top) 2000: Car park, Post office, Shops, Factory, Main Street, Bus station, Park, River, Houses 2025: Shopping centre, Café, Shops, Apartments, Pedestrian street, Bus station, Library, Park, River, Car park Chart by Testmigo. The data is invented for practice. ## Band 6 to 9 sample answers ### Band 6 The maps show the town centre of Westbridge in 2000 and 2025. Overall, there are many changes in the town centre, and a lot of new buildings were built. In 2000 there was a car park in the north-west of the town centre. In 2025 this car park was replaced by a shopping centre. The post office next to it became a café. The shops in the north-east were not changed, but the factory below them was demolished and apartments were built there. Main Street, which go through the middle of the town, became a pedestrian street. In the south of the town, the bus station stayed in the same place and the river also did not change. The park was bigger in 2000, but in 2025 a library was built in the north part of the park, so the park became smaller. The houses in the south-west corner were removed and a car park was built instead of them. In conclusion, the town centre changed a lot, and in 2025 it had more buildings than in 2000. _This Band 6 report identifies every change correctly and uses some passive forms, but the overview ("there are many changes") is vague and in the wrong tense, and it does not say what kind of place the centre became. Vocabulary is basic and repetitive ("changed a lot", "became", "a lot of"), and there are errors such as "which go through" and "instead of them". For Band 7, the overview should summarise the type of redevelopment and what stayed the same, and the body should use more precise change vocabulary._ ### Band 7 The maps illustrate the changes that took place in the centre of Westbridge between 2000 and 2025. Overall, the town centre was redeveloped, with a shopping centre, apartments and a library replacing older facilities, and its main road became a pedestrian street. However, the shops, the bus station and the river remained unchanged. In the northern half of the town, the large car park in the north-west was demolished and a shopping centre was built in its place. Next to it, the post office was converted into a café. On the eastern side, the factory was knocked down to make way for apartments, although the row of shops to the north of it was retained. Main Street, which ran from west to east across the centre, was also closed to traffic and turned into a pedestrian street. The southern part of the town saw fewer changes. The bus station remained in the south-west, but the houses below it were replaced by a new car park. A library was constructed on the northern section of the park, which therefore reduced in size. The river on the eastern edge was unaffected. _This Band 7 report has a clear overview that names the main kinds of change and the features that stayed the same, and it is logically organised by area with accurate locations. It uses a good range of change vocabulary and passives ("was converted into", "to make way for"), with a minor slip ("which therefore reduced in size" instead of "was reduced"). For Band 8, the writer would compare the two maps more explicitly, for example noting that the car park moved rather than simply disappeared._ ### Band 8 The two maps show how the centre of Westbridge changed between 2000 and 2025. The most noticeable development is that the town centre gained a shopping centre, apartments and a library, with the factory disappearing and the car park moving from the north-west to the south-west. Main Street was also pedestrianised, while a few features, including the shops, the bus station and the river, stayed exactly as they were. The northern half of the centre was almost entirely redeveloped. The car park that occupied the north-west corner in 2000 was replaced by a shopping centre, and the neighbouring post office was converted into a café. To the east, the factory was demolished and apartments were built on its place, although the shops directly to the north remained. South of the main street, changes were more limited but still significant. The houses in the south-west corner were cleared to create a new car park, just below the bus station, which was unchanged. The park became noticeably smaller after a library was built on its northern part, while the river along the eastern edge was left untouched. _This Band 8 report selects the key changes well and its overview captures the overall direction of the redevelopment, including the relocation of the car park. Locations are precise ("the north-west corner", "directly to the north"), the paragraphs compare the two maps area by area, and the passive and change vocabulary are varied, with one prepositional slip ("built on its place" for "in its place"). To reach Band 9, the report would need to be error-free and exact about what stayed the same: "a few features, including the shops..." suggests other features were also unchanged, while the Band 9 answer says "Only the shops, the bus station and the river were left unaltered."_ ### Band 9 The maps compare the layout of Westbridge town centre in 2000 and 2025. Overall, the centre was extensively redeveloped: a shopping centre, apartments and a library were added, the factory disappeared, the car park was relocated from the north-west to the south-west, and the main road through the centre was pedestrianised. Only the shops, the bus station and the river were left unaltered. North of the main street, the most dramatic change occurred in the north-west corner, where the car park was demolished to make way for a large shopping centre. The adjacent post office was converted into a café, and further east, the factory was knocked down and replaced by apartments, directly south of the existing row of shops. The road itself, formerly Main Street, became a pedestrian street. To the south, the houses in the south-west corner were cleared and the land was turned into a car park, adjoining the bus station, which retained its original position. In addition, a library was constructed on the northern part of the park, leaving a noticeably smaller green space beside the river, which was unchanged. _This Band 9 report fully meets the task: the overview captures the scale and nature of the redevelopment and what was kept, and every change is located precisely and compared across the two maps. The organisation by area is seamless, change vocabulary ("to make way for", "retained its original position", "adjoining") is wide and natural, and passive and relative structures are used flexibly with no errors, so it meets every top-band descriptor._ ## Common mistakes - **No overview, or an overview that only says "there were many changes".** Say what kind of place the area became and what stayed the same: "Overall, a shopping centre, apartments and a library replaced older facilities, while the shops and the river were unchanged." - **Getting the length wrong: listing every building on each map separately, or stopping under 150 words.** Aim for about 170-190 words that describe the changes area by area, comparing the two maps as you go. An answer under 150 words loses marks. - **Using the present tense for changes between two past dates ("the factory is demolished").** Use the past passive ("the factory was demolished") and the past perfect for "by" points ("by 2025, a library had been built"). - **Guessing why the changes happened or judging them, such as "to attract more shoppers" or "a great improvement".** Describe only what the maps show. Purposes and opinions are not part of a Task 1 answer. - **Getting locations wrong or leaving them out, so the reader cannot picture where a change happened.** Check where north is and give a position for each change: "in the north-west corner", "directly south of the shops".