Hillside University Campus, 1995 vs 2025
A complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 question with a model answer of 231 words, plus a breakdown of the sentence structures, cohesive devices and vocabulary that answer uses. Write your own version first, then compare.
Written by Manish Sharma · CELTA and DELTA qualified · 8 years teaching IELTS
Score my answer to this questionThe question
You have 20 minutes. Write at least 150 words.
The two maps below show the main campus of Hillside University in 1995 and after a major redevelopment in 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. [Map description — Hillside University, 1995] - The campus is laid out on a roughly rectangular site with a single main entrance from a road on the west side. - Just inside the entrance is a small car park. - North of the car park sits the Main Library, a two-storey brick building. - East of the library are three small Lecture Halls in a row, labelled LH1, LH2 and LH3. - South of the lecture halls is a single Student Union building with a small canteen attached. - A grass quadrangle occupies the centre of the campus, with footpaths crossing it. - A row of three Halls of Residence sits along the southern boundary, each with its own small garden. - The eastern edge of the campus is undeveloped woodland. - There are no sports facilities on the map. [Map description — Hillside University, after 2025 redevelopment] - The main entrance has been moved from the west to the north of the site, with a new tram stop directly outside. - The original car park has been removed and replaced by a landscaped Welcome Plaza with seating and digital information screens. - The old Main Library has been demolished and replaced by a much larger four-storey Learning Hub combining library, study pods and a café. - The three small Lecture Halls have been knocked through into a single Modern Teaching Block of equivalent footprint. - The old Student Union and its canteen have been expanded into a larger Student Centre with shops, a gym and a food court. - The central grass quadrangle has been retained, but a covered outdoor stage has been added on its west side. - The three Halls of Residence remain in place but each has been extended upwards by an additional storey. - The eastern woodland has been partially cleared to make way for a new Sports Complex including football pitches, an athletics track and an indoor pool.
How to approach it
- 01Open with an overview sentence that captures the overall direction of change and the features that have survived
- 02Group changes by theme (entrance, academic, social, sports) rather than walking around the site
- 03Use cardinal directions and 'just inside', 'along the southern boundary' rather than vague spatial phrases
- 04Use present perfect passives consistently: 'has been moved', 'has been demolished', 'has been replaced'
- 05Mention at least one feature that has stayed the same to lift Task Achievement
Model answer
231 words in 4 paragraphs. Read it after you have written your own, not before: the point of a model answer is to show you what you missed, and you cannot miss anything you have not attempted.
The two maps illustrate the changes that have taken place on the main campus of Hillside University between 1995 and a major redevelopment completed in 2025.
Overall, the campus has been transformed from a modest, vehicle-accessible academic site into a much larger, mixed-use environment supported by public transport. Although the three Halls of Residence and the central grass quadrangle have been retained, almost every other feature has been replaced or significantly extended.
The most visible change involves the entrance and arrival area. The main entrance has been moved from the west of the site to the north, with a new tram stop providing direct public transport access. The original car park just inside the old entrance has been removed entirely and replaced by a landscaped Welcome Plaza with seating and digital information screens, signalling a clear shift away from car-based campus life.
The academic and social facilities have also been substantially upgraded. The two-storey Main Library has been demolished and replaced by a four-storey Learning Hub combining library, study pods and a café, while the three separate Lecture Halls have been merged into a single Modern Teaching Block. The Student Union and its canteen have been expanded into a much larger Student Centre with retail and a gym. Finally, the eastern woodland has been partially cleared to accommodate a new Sports Complex, addressing the previous campus's complete lack of sporting facilities.
What this answer actually does
Measured from the text above, and compared against the other 38 answers of the same type in this library. These are counts, not band scores: they describe what the writing does, which is the part you can copy.
23.5 more than the median answer for this task type
10 words at the shortest, 36 at the longest
1 fewer than the median answer for this task type
carry a subordinate or relative clause
Sentence rhythm
Sentences average 23.1 words and vary by 8.2 words either side of that, running from 10 words to 36. Variation is the point. Grammatical Range and Accuracy rewards a mix of simple and complex sentences, and an answer where every sentence is the same length reads as flat no matter how correct it is. 3 of the 10 sentences here carry a subordinate or relative clause.
The cohesive devices it uses
4 in total, spread across 3 different functions. Range matters more than count: an answer that opens every paragraph with a sequencer signals its structure but never signals a relationship between ideas, and Coherence and Cohesion is marked on both.
although, while
finally
overall
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 85 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 73 per cent appear exactly once. Lexical Resource is where repetition costs the most marks, and the usual cause is not a small vocabulary but reaching for the same noun every time the topic is named.
The longest run of words copied straight from the question is 13 words. That is long enough to notice. Copied wording is discounted from your word count, so a run this size is doing less work than it looks like it is doing.
What you are marked on
All four criteria carry equal weight, and your Writing band is their average rounded to the nearest half band.
Task Achievement
Cover the main changes and unchanged features across both maps with an overview and clear comparisons
Coherence & Cohesion
Group changes by theme or zone with a clear paragraph structure
Lexical Resource
Use precise vocabulary for buildings, location and change
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Use the present passive accurately and contrast structures with control
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