Band 8 model answer
A model answer written to illustrate a Band 8 response to this question, with the rubric breakdown and what carries it. Written by us as a teaching example, not a verified exam script.
“The maps show the centre of the town of Halton in 2000 and today.”8
Overall
8
Task response
8
Coherence & cohesion
8
Lexical resource
8
Grammar
The two maps show how the centre of Halton changed between 2000 and the present day.
Overall, the area has been substantially redeveloped, with industrial and residential land converted to retail, commercial and leisure uses. The town centre has become more built-up and diverse in character, while the main road through the area has remained unchanged.
In the north-west, the factory that existed in 2000 has been replaced by a block of apartments. To the north-east, the open field has been converted into a supermarket with an adjacent car park. Along the southern edge of Station Road, the original row of shops has been redeveloped and replaced by a larger shopping centre, suggesting a consolidation of retail provision in that zone.
In contrast, the small cluster of houses that stood in the south-east in 2000 has been demolished and replaced by a public park, introducing a green recreational space into what was previously residential land. Station Road itself, which runs east-west through the centre of the area, has remained unchanged throughout the period and continues to serve as the main route dividing the northern and southern zones.
- •Clear overview that captures the general transformation toward a more built-up, mixed-use centre before any individual change is listed.
- •Consistent and accurate use of the passive for changes: 'has been replaced by', 'has been converted into', 'has been demolished'.
- •Compass directions used to locate every change precisely: north-west, north-east, along the southern edge.
- •Explicitly notes the feature that remained unchanged (Station Road), a Band 7+ marker.
- •One additional contrastive linker between the northern and southern zones would tighten the cohesion further.
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