IELTS Writing Task 1 · Map

Japanese and American Office Layouts: Band 8 sample answer

The question

The graph below shows a typical American and a Japanese office.

Two floor plan diagrams comparing a typical Japanese office with open workstations and a typical American office with separate rooms and individual desks. — Tap the chart to open it full size.

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Outline

Introduce the diagrams and their main difference: open-plan vs. individualised design
Overview: Japanese office is open-plan with group supervision; American office is compartmentalised with privacy
Describe the Japanese office layout: two workstations with section managers, department manager at front, two doors, continuous windows
Describe the American office layout: individual desks in centre, separate manager offices on right, facilities on left, windows on both sides, doors at four corners

Sample answer

Student answer — Band 8

Written by a WriteReady student in Quick Write, shared anonymously · 261 words

TA 8
CC 8
LR 8
GRA 8

The diagrams illustrate the layout of a typical Japanese office and an American office, highlighting the arrangement of workstations, managerial areas and additional facilities.

Overall, the two offices differ considerably in terms of organisation and privacy. The Japanese office is largely open-plan, with employees grouped into two sections under the supervision of section managers and a department manager positioned at the front. By contrast, the American office provides a more individualised working environment, with separate offices for managers and several dedicated rooms for meetings and facilities.

In the Japanese office, there are two large workstations, each accommodating six employees and a section manager. These are positioned side by side in the lower part of the room, while the department manager has a separate desk at the top, directly facing the employees. The office has two doors, one at either end of the upper wall, and a continuous row of windows along this wall. Notably, there are no enclosed rooms or separate facilities within the main workspace.

The American office, on the other hand, is divided into several distinct areas. Eight employees work at individual desks arranged in two columns in the central section of the room. Along the right-hand side, the two section managers and the department manager each have their own designated areas, providing substantially greater separation from other staff. The left side contains a printer/copier and a storage area, as well as two conference rooms. Unlike the Japanese design, windows run along both the left and right walls, while doors are located at all four corners of the office.

Vocabulary

communal workstations
desks or workspaces shared openly by a group
UZumumiy ish joylari
The Japanese office consists of communal workstations where six employees sit together under one section manager.
partitioned
divided by walls or dividers into separate sections
UZbo'limlarga ajratilgan
The American office is partitioned into distinct areas for managers, meetings, and storage.
facing
positioned to look directly toward something, already used well by the student
UZyuzma-yuz turgan
The department manager's desk directly faces the rows of employees.
segregated
kept separate or apart, instead of repeating 'separate' multiple times
UZajratilgan
Managers in the American office occupy segregated offices along the right-hand wall.
mirrors
to closely resemble or correspond to something, useful for comparing layouts
UZaks ettiradi, o'xshaydi
The arrangement of desks in the American office mirrors a grid-like structure, unlike the Japanese layout.
in close proximity to
very near to
UZyaqin masofada
The two workstation blocks sit in close proximity to one another in the lower half of the room.
stands in contrast to
to be clearly different from something else, a natural alternative linker to vary 'by contrast'/'on the other hand'
UZfarq qiladi, qarama-qarshi
The American office's use of private rooms stands in contrast to the open Japanese layout.
flanked by
having something positioned on both sides
UZikki tomondan o'ralgan
The American office is flanked by windows on both the left and right walls.

Grammar highlights

The student uses multiple spatial prepositions and phrases like 'positioned side by side', 'at either end', and 'along both the left and right walls' to create precise, vivid descriptions of physical layout.
Comparative structures such as 'By contrast' and 'Unlike the Japanese design' effectively signal the shift between the two offices and help the reader follow the comparison logically.
The student employs a variety of complex sentence structures, including relative clauses ('each accommodating six employees and a section manager'), which adds flexibility and sophistication without sacrificing clarity.

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