Back to Writing Hub

User-written IELTS example

Writing Academic Task 1 Band 7.0 Example

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

199 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 7.0

The map illustrates the changes in Chorleywood village beside London over the two centuries from 1868 to 1994. Overall, it is clear from the map that Chorleywood experienced dramatic development which took place in four distinct stages with the most extensive construction between 1970 and 1994. Moreover, the village has three types of roads which are shown alongside a railway and a motorway. The first period, 1868–1883, shows only a small amount of development, concentrated near the western transport routes. During 1883–1922, built-up areas spread around Chorleywood Station and along the railway, which was built in 1909. Between 1922 and 1970, further development occurred mainly to the west and south of the station, although open land remained around Chorleywood Park and Golf Course. The motorway was constructed in 1970 and runs broadly north–south through the eastern part of the map. In the final period, 1970–1994, development was substantially more extensive: several new areas appeared on both sides of the motorway, particularly to the north and east, while the village also expanded towards the south-east. Overall, settlement grew from a relatively small western cluster into a larger, more dispersed village, with transport routes shaping its expansion.

Targeted Improvement Tips

1
Calculate the date span before describing it: 1868 to 1994 covers 126 years, not two centuries.
2
Separate the map’s transport features accurately: refer to main roads, the railway and the motorway rather than calling them three road types.
3
Group the body by the four time periods and connect each period’s changes to the station, railway or motorway only where the map supports that link.

Related examples for this topic

Compare different bands on the same IELTS prompt.

Browse all