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User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 5.0 Example

Original task prompt, user essay, band score, and related examples in the same report workspace.

220 words AcademicTask 1Map
Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

Try your own response before reading the samples.

Ideas to explore

  • Summarise the overall pattern: the village grew substantially between 1868 and 1994.
  • Compare the stages of expansion: early development was limited, followed by growth around the centre and later in several outlying areas.
  • Mention transport changes accurately: the railway was built in 1909 and the motorway in 1970; the park and golf course remained a prominent mapped feature.

Suggested structure

  1. Introduce the map, location and time span.
  2. Give an overview of the main expansion and transport-related changes.
  3. Describe the earliest period and development up to 1922.
  4. Compare the 1922–1970 and 1970–1994 periods, including the directions of later growth.
  5. Finish with a brief summary of the village’s expansion and continuing park and golf course.
Useful vocabulary & examples
built-up area
Land covered by buildings and developed settlement.

The built-up area was limited in the earliest period.

spread around the centre
Expanded outward in places close to the central area.

Development spread around the centre between 1883 and 1922.

in several separate areas
In a number of distinct locations rather than one continuous zone.

From 1970 to 1994, development appeared in several separate areas.

transport links
Routes or services that connect places, such as railways and motorways.

The map shows the railway and motorway as important transport links.

Task Prompt

Chorleywood is a village near London whose population has increased steadily since the middle of the nineteenth century. The map below shows the development of the village.
IELTS Writing Task 1 visual

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 5.0

The map provided illustrates the development of Chorleywood, which is a village near London that witnessed an increase in population in the middle of the nineteenth century. Overall, Chorleywood was a very small village in the 1800s then grew significantly after 1883, it also had multiple transport routes constructed to improve transportation. Firstly, since 1868, the settlement was concentrated around the area that later became the village centre. Between 1883 and 1922, development spread around Chorleywood Station, and the railway was built in 1909. From 1922 to 1970, further built-up areas appeared mainly to the west and south of the railway. The main roads are also shown, connecting the village with nearby areas. After 1970, development continued in several directions, with new areas appearing particularly to the north and east. A motorway was built in 1970, running north to south on the eastern side of the map and meeting a main road at a roundabout. The later residential areas are spread around this road network, while Chorleywood Park and Golf Course remains in the central part of the map. Overall, the village expanded over the period, and the arrival of the railway and motorway coincided with the growth of its transport links. The map therefore shows both the spread of development and the changing transport network between 1868 and 1994.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Separate the opening overview into grammatically complete sentences; avoid joining two independent clauses with only a comma.
2
Describe the mapped stages with directional comparisons, such as where later development appeared relative to the station, railway, and motorway.
3
Keep the population statement distinct from the map evidence, and avoid implying that the map shows population figures or proves why transport links were built.

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