Practice Map Tasks
The two maps below show road access to a city hospital in 2007 and in 2010.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparison where relevant.
step 1: noticing ideas
step 2: key feature
step 3: organization
1
road access
to a city hospital
bus stop
2
the same:
ring road
city road
city hospital
hospital rd
staff car park
new facilities:
bus station
public car park
access:
not bus stop
new roundabout
3
if before is soo little thing to say, say about what retaind, if not
p1 before
p2 after
using umbrella term in overview for not too detail
1 Write
The two maps show road access before and after it was developed as a city hospital connection. Overall, most development took place on the southern and eastern sides of the hospital, where a number of transport facilities had been built, while the north side was left retained.
Prior to development, this area did not need to handle a crowd. In terms of its transport facilities, there was a car park, which was on the east side of hospital road, used for the public and the staff of the hospital. Besides that, there were some bus stops on both sides of the hospital road. As part of the development program, three main roads - Ring Road, which encircles the hospital, Hospital Road, and City Road had largely been retained, with some structural work fitting around existing roads.
Following construction, although the area was more developed, the City Hospital was unchanged. In terms of access, there were two roundabouts on both sides of Hospital Road, which connected to the Ring Road and City Road. In terms of transport facilities, while a bus station had been built for people who come to this Hospital, all bus stops had been removed. Reaching the hospital had been made easier with the addition of a public car park on the east side of the hospital; the old car park was reserved for staff.
2 Check
2.1 Task Achievement
2.1.1 Strengths:
You gave a clear overall summary, identifying that most development happened in the south and east.
You covered all key features: roads, car parks, roundabouts, bus station, and removal of bus stops.
The use of passive voice (had been built, was reserved) is appropriate for describing map changes.
2.1.2 Areas for Improvement:
Some factual inaccuracies and unclear phrasing reduce precision:
❌ “north side was left retained” → grammatically incorrect; and factually unclear. There’s no major feature on the north side of the hospital that should be described as “retained.”
✅ Suggestion: “…while the hospital building itself remained unchanged.”
❌ “three main roads… had largely been retained…” → This sentence is confusing; you listed the roads as if they were new, then said they were retained. Also, the roads weren’t developed structurally—the development was around them.
The task required clear before/after comparisons. Your timeline control is a bit weak in parts. For example:
“Following construction, although the area was more developed, the City Hospital was unchanged.”
✅ Better: “After redevelopment, the hospital building itself remained unchanged, while the surrounding infrastructure was significantly upgraded.”
Sentence: “for people who come to this Hospital” is informal and vague.
✅ Replace with: “for hospital visitors”
2.2 Coherence and Cohesion
✅ Strengths:
Good use of sequencing phrases: “Prior to development,” “Following construction,” “In terms of…”
Logical paragraph structure with clear division: before vs. after.
🔧 Areas for Improvement:
Some cohesion devices are misused or overused:
Repetition of “In terms of…” — try synonyms like “Regarding,” “With respect to,” “Concerning,” etc.
Sentences sometimes lack clarity due to poor syntax:
“Besides that, there were some bus stops…”
✅ Better: “Additionally, bus stops were located on both sides of Hospital Road.”
2.3 Lexical Resource
✅ Strengths:
You use some appropriate map-related vocabulary: roundabouts, bus station, hospital road, car park, retained, facilities.
🔧 Issues:
Some inaccurate or awkward word choices:
“the area did not need to handle a crowd”
✅ Better: “the area had limited traffic demand before development”
“used for the public and the staff of the hospital” → too wordy
✅ Better: “used by both the public and hospital staff”
Repeating “transport facilities” often → vary with:
“infrastructure,” “access features,” “public transport systems,” etc.
2.4 Grammatical Range and Accuracy
✅ Strengths:
Some accurate passive forms: “had been made easier,” “had been built,” “was reserved”
Complex sentences attempted.
🔧 Issues:
Multiple tense control and grammar slips:
❌ “north side was left retained” → incorrect phrase (double passive). Should be:
✅ “the north side remained undeveloped” or “was left untouched”
❌ “come to this Hospital” → wrong register
✅ Use: “visit the hospital” (no capital H for “hospital” unless part of its name)
Use of past perfect (“had been built”) is not always necessary—present perfect or simple past may be better if it’s part of the map description.
3 Update my writing
The two maps show before and after road access was improved to serve the City Hospital. Overall, most development took place on the southern and eastern sides of the hospital, where a number of transport facilities had been built, while the hospital building itself remained unchanged.
Prior to development, the area had limited traffic demand. In terms of its transport facilities, there was a car park, which was on the east side of hospital road, used by both the public and hospital staff. Additionally, there were some bus stops on both sides of the hospital road.
After redevelopment, the hospital building itself remained unchanged, while the surrounding infrastructure was significantly upgraded. Regarding access, there were two roundabouts on both sides of Hospital Road, which connected to the Ring Road and City Road. Concerning access features, while a bus station had been built for hospital visitors, all bus stops had been removed. Access to the hospital was improved by the addition of a public car park on the east side of the hospital; the old car park was reserved for staff.
🔹 1. Task Achievement:
✅ What’s good:
You clearly identify changes between the two maps: bus station, car parks, roundabouts, etc.
You correctly state that the hospital building itself remained unchanged.
You use appropriate comparisons between before and after.
You included specific features with accurate location references (east side, both sides of Hospital Road, etc.)
🔧 To improve:
The phrase “developed as a city hospital connection” is a little unclear or awkward. Better phrased as:
✅ “…developed to improve road access to the City Hospital”
✅ OR: “…developed to enhance transportation infrastructure around City Hospital.”
🔹 2. Coherence and Cohesion:
✅ What’s good:
Paragraphs are well-organized: introduction, before, after.
Clear linking: “Prior to development,” “After redevelopment,” “Additionally,” “Regarding access,” “Concerning access features”.
🔧 Suggestions:
Try not to repeat phrases like “the hospital building itself remained unchanged.” You used this twice in two paragraphs. Rephrase or omit the second mention.
Example:
After redevelopment, while the hospital remained the same, major upgrades were made to the surrounding transport infrastructure.
“Concerning access features” is a bit unnatural/formal. Instead, use:
✅ “In terms of transport facilities…”
✅ “With regard to public transport…”
🔹 3. Lexical Resource:
✅ Strengths:
Strong topic vocabulary: “transport facilities,” “infrastructure,” “redevelopment,” “hospital visitors,” “reserved for staff”
Accurate prepositions: “on the east side,” “connected to”
🔧 Suggestions:
Consider varying “access” a bit more to avoid repetition. You use “access” in multiple forms (road access, access features, reaching the hospital).
You can use:
“transport links”
“connection routes”
“entry to the hospital was improved…”
🔹 4. Grammatical Range and Accuracy:
✅ What’s good:
Good range of sentence structures: relative clauses, passive voice, present perfect/passive
Example:
*“…a bus station had been built for hospital visitors…” ✅ Excellent use of past perfect passive.
🔧 Errors to Fix:
❌ “…road access before and after it was developed as a city hospital connection.”
✅ Awkward and not idiomatic
✅ Better: “…before and after road access was improved to serve the City Hospital.”
❌ “…Reaching the hospital had been made easier…”
✅ Better: “Access to the hospital was improved by the addition of a public car park…”
4 Sample Band 8 Model (for comparison)
The two maps illustrate the road access to City Hospital before and after improvements made in 2007.
Overall, while the hospital building itself remained unchanged, major developments were made to the surrounding infrastructure, particularly to traffic flow, parking, and public transport facilities.
Before the changes, Hospital Road was directly accessible from City Road, with bus stops located on either side of Hospital Road. A single car park, situated to the east of the hospital, served both staff and public.
Following redevelopment, two roundabouts were added—one at the intersection of Hospital Road and City Road, and another where Hospital Road meets the Ring Road. These roundabouts improved traffic circulation. A new bus station was constructed on the west side of Hospital Road and is now accessible via the roundabouts. The original car park is now reserved for hospital staff, and a new public car park was built to the east, accessible via a new road off the ring road.