Hospital Site Plan Comparison (2000 vs 2025)
A complete IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 question with a model answer of 208 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
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You have 20 minutes. Write at least 150 words.
The two maps below show the site plan of St Mary's General Hospital in the year 2000 and after redevelopment in 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words. [Map 1 — 2000] The rectangular site is bordered by Park Road to the north and Beechwood Avenue to the south. The main hospital building occupies the centre of the site. To the west of it stands a small two-storey nurses' accommodation block. A surface car park covers the eastern third of the site. A row of mature trees runs along the southern boundary. There is a single pedestrian entrance from Park Road. [Map 2 — 2025] The nurses' accommodation has been demolished and replaced by a new four-storey outpatient wing connected to the main hospital. The main hospital itself has been extended northwards with a new emergency department facing Park Road. The surface car park has been removed and replaced by a multi-storey car park in the south-eastern corner. The remaining eastern area has been landscaped into a green courtyard with seating and a children's play area. The trees along the southern boundary have been retained. A second vehicle entrance has been added from Beechwood Avenue, and a helipad has been built on the roof of the new outpatient wing.
How to approach it
- 01Use the past tense for the 2000 map and present perfect for changes by 2025 (e.g., 'has been demolished')
- 02Organise by area — west versus east — rather than describing every change in sequence
- 03Highlight what has been retained as well as what has changed in your overview
- 04Use precise locational language: 'to the north of', 'in the south-eastern corner', 'along the boundary'
- 05Use passive structures for redevelopment: 'has been replaced by', 'has been extended'
- 06Comment on the overall character of the change (e.g., denser, more vertical, multi-functional)
Model answer
208 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 site plans illustrate the layout of St Mary's General Hospital in 2000 and following a substantial redevelopment by 2025.
Overall, the site has been transformed from a modest hospital complex with surface parking into a much denser, multi-functional medical campus, with new clinical facilities, vertical parking, and improved access for both patients and emergency services. Despite the extensive changes, the southern tree boundary has been preserved.
Looking at the western half of the site, the small two-storey nurses' accommodation that stood in 2000 has been demolished and replaced by a four-storey outpatient wing, now physically connected to the main hospital building. The main hospital itself has been extended northwards, and a new emergency department has been built facing Park Road, considerably enlarging the clinical footprint.
The eastern half has seen even more dramatic changes. The large surface car park that once covered roughly one-third of the site has been removed entirely. In its place, a multi-storey car park has been constructed in the south-eastern corner, freeing up land for a landscaped courtyard with seating and a children's play area. Access has also been upgraded with a second vehicle entrance from Beechwood Avenue, while a rooftop helipad on the new outpatient wing now allows emergency air transfers.
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.
0.5 more than the median answer for this task type
9 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 9 words either side of that, running from 9 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 9 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.
despite, while
once
overall
Vocabulary and repetition
Ignoring grammar words, 82 per cent of the content words in this answer are distinct, and 70 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 8 words. Examiners discount wording lifted from the question, so a short run here is the right outcome: the answer restates the topic in its own words rather than borrowing the question's.
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
Identify the main changes between the two maps, include a clear overview, and report all key features accurately.
Coherence & Cohesion
Organise the response logically by area or theme, with clear paragraphing and locational linking.
Lexical Resource
Use a range of vocabulary for describing maps, including prepositions of place and transformation verbs.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
Demonstrate accurate use of the passive voice, present perfect, and past tense for map comparison.
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