The question
The maps below show the village of Elmbridge in 2000 and today.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
2000
Today
Key features to report
- Overview: the village has become much more developed, with housing, shopping and leisure facilities replacing farmland and part of the woodland; the railway has gone, but Main Road now crosses the river.
- The railway line has become a cycle path and the station is now a café.
- The farmland north of Main Road has been replaced by a housing estate built around a new road.
- The school has been extended and a playing field added; the post office has been converted into a clinic.
- About half of the woodland has been cleared for a supermarket and car park.
- Main Road has been extended over the river by a new bridge; the church, green, houses and shops are unchanged.
Model answer
199 words · written by Abroadway to show band 9 features (not an official IELTS sample)
The maps illustrate the changes that have taken place in the village of Elmbridge between 2000 and the present day.
Overall, the village has become considerably more developed, with new housing, shopping and leisure facilities replacing much of its farmland and woodland. Transport links have also changed, as the railway has disappeared but the main road now crosses the river.
In 2000, a railway line ran along the western side of the village, with a station just north of Main Road. This line has since been converted into a cycle path, and the station building is now a café. The most significant change has occurred north of Main Road, where the farmland in the east has been replaced by a large housing estate built around a new road. The church, the green and the original houses, however, remain unchanged.
South of Main Road, the post office has become a clinic, and the school has been extended eastwards, with a playing field added to its south. Around half of the woodland has been cleared to make way for a supermarket and car park. Finally, Main Road, which previously ended at the river, now continues across it via a new bridge.
Useful language
- railway
- cycle path
- housing estate
- farmland
- extended
- woodland
- cleared
- supermarket
- bridge
- unchanged
Step-by-step method in the free lesson Maps: describing change.
Write your own report and get a band estimate
Free, no account needed. Aim for 20 minutes and at least 150 words.