User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 9.0 Example

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

181 words AcademicTask 1Map

Task 1

Illustrative target band for this original model answer.

Plan your answer

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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

Introduce the map, location and time span.
Give an overview of the main expansion and transport-related changes.
Describe the earliest period and development up to 1922.
Compare the 1922–1970 and 1970–1994 periods, including the directions of later growth.
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.

User Essay Analysis

Review the public answer with report-style highlights.

Band 9.0

The map illustrates the development of the village of Chorleywood, whose population experienced a steady increase between 1868 and 1994. The map highlights key stages of growth, including the construction of roads, railways, and other infrastructure over this period. Overall, the village expanded significantly over this period, transforming from a small rural area into a well-connected settlement. The earliest built-up area, shown for 1868–1883, was small and close to the main-road junction. Development had spread around Chorleywood Station by 1922, after the railway was built in 1909. Between 1922 and 1970, further built-up areas appeared mainly to the west and south of the station, following the railway and existing roads. From 1970 to 1994, the village grew further, with several new sections to the north and east as well as south-east of the central area. A motorway was added in 1970, crossing the map from north to south, while Chorleywood Park and Golf Course remained near the centre. Overall, the latest period saw the widest spread of development, and the transport links formed a prominent feature of the changing village.

Targeted Improvement Tips

Separate what the map dates from what it merely shows: identify the railway as built in 1909 and the motorway as built in 1970, without assigning a date to the main roads.

Make the overview compare the village’s small early built-up area with its broader spread by 1994, rather than relying only on “expanded significantly”.

Proofread the introduction for repetition and replace broad wording such as “other infrastructure” with the specific features visible on the map.

AI Feedback

Overall Band

9.0

Excellent

Words

181

Type

Map

Criteria Breakdown

Task Achievement

7.0 Band

The response covers the full period and identifies the station, railway, motorway and park, with useful detail in “From 1970 to 1994, the village grew further”. However, the opening says “the construction of roads” even though the map does not date the main roads; only the railway and motorway have construction dates. In a final version, distinguish clearly between dated transport additions and existing roads, and compare the settlement’s earlier limited extent with its later spread.

Coherence & Cohesion

7.5 Band

The report is easy to follow: it gives an overview, then moves through the settlement’s development in chronological order. Phrases such as “Between 1922 and 1970” make the sequence clear, and the final sentence returns to the main trend. The introduction repeats “over this period”, however, and the transport links are mentioned in several places. Remove that repetition and group related transport details together for a tighter account.

Lexical Resource

7.0 Band

The answer uses relevant map vocabulary, including “built-up area”, “main-road junction” and “crossing the map from north to south”. These phrases help describe both the settlement and its infrastructure. “Other infrastructure” is less precise, and “expanded significantly” is broad when the map shows where the later development occurred. Use terms such as “residential development” only if appropriate, and describe the mapped locations or spread directly rather than relying on general labels.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy

7.5 Band

There is a good range of accurate sentence forms, including the relative clause “whose population experienced a steady increase” and the time clause “after the railway was built in 1909”. The continuation also completes the opening phrase grammatically. The main refinement is economy rather than a clear grammar error: “over this period” occurs twice in the introduction. Check repeated time phrases during proofreading while keeping the accurate past-tense descriptions.

Topic Band Distribution

Band 9.03 examples

Band 8.03 examples

Band 7.03 examples

Band 6.03 examples

Band 5.03 examples

Band 4.03 examples

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