IELTS Writing · Task 1 · Redesigned Spaces

A notebook with handwritten notes beside a floor plan – IELTS Writing Task 1 grammar

Redesigned Spaces

Six short rules for describing plans and maps, one on each slide. Read the rule, then do the exercise under it. Only your first answer counts (60 in all, you need 80%), but you can always see why.

1 / 6 The passive: what has been done

On a plan, we usually don’t know who made the changes, so most changes are written in the passive: be + past participle.

form	when	example
has / have been + V3	the change, looking at the plan of today	The kitchen has been converted into a café. Two rooms have been added.
was / were + V3	with a past year or “when it was redesigned”	In 2015, the car park was reduced in size. The bins were moved.

Singular → has / was: the kitchen has been, the shop was. Plural → have / were: the toilets have been, the bins were.
The examiner wrote about the band 6 sample answer: the passive is right, but the same passive in every sentence makes the range limited. Use it – and mix it with active verbs (rule 5).

2 / 6 Past participles: spell them right

Every passive needs a past participle (V3). A wrong form is a Lexical Resource mistake: the band 6 answer in the book wrote “modificated” and “redisign”.

regular: modify → modified · move → moved · enlarge → enlarged · redesign → redesigned · install → installed
irregular: build → built · cut → cut · put → put · set → set · split → split · knock down → knocked down
-y after a consonant: modify → modified, but stay → stayed

3 / 6 Prepositions of place

in the north-east corner · in the centre / in the middle of the room
in the north of the building = inside it · to the north of the building = outside it
next to / beside / adjacent to the entrance · near the entrance
opposite the shop (no “of”) · between the kitchen and the toilets
along / alongside the west wall · on the left / right (as you enter)

No compass on the plan? Use at the top / bottom, in the top left-hand corner, on the left-hand side.

4 / 6 Tenses: then and now

Present simple for the plans themselves: The two plans show… They compare…
Past simple for the old plan: In 2005, there was a kitchen… The games room occupied…
Present simple for today: Today, there is a café… The office remains…
Present perfect for the change between then and now: The kitchen has been converted… The car park has disappeared.
used to for what was there before: …where the car park used to be.

With a past year (in 2018) – past simple, not present perfect: The car park was removed in 2018.

5 / 6 Active verbs for variety

The examiner’s comment on the band 6 answer: “frequent repetition of verb forms, e.g. passive structures … the range is limited.” Keep the passive, but let some sentences start with the new thing and an active verb:

A gym now occupies / takes up the space where the pitch used to be.
A coffee bar now stands where the staff rooms used to be.
The new wing houses a library. The terrace lies to the south.
The car park has given way to a garden. The bins have disappeared.
The office remains unchanged. The café offers take-away food.

disappear, remain, lie, stand have no object – they are never passive: not “has been disappeared”.

6 / 6 Complex sentences

For band 7 you need a mix of simple and complex sentences with few errors. Useful patterns for plans:

X, which …, … – extra information (commas, never “that”): The kitchen, which is in the north-west corner, has not changed.
… where … used to be: A café stands where the staff room used to be.
What used to be X is now Y: What used to be the kitchen is now a café.
… to make way for …: The pitch was demolished to make way for a gym.
While / Whereas + a contrast: While the office remains the same, the games room has been converted.
Located / Situated …, at the start: Located next to the entrance, the coffee bar…