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Master the IELTS Map
Map questions usually show a town, an island, or a building layout. You will typically see two maps of the same location at different times (e.g., 1990 vs. Present) and must describe the changes.
Key Strategies for Maps
🧭 Compass Points
Use North, South, East, West. Never say “at the top” or “on the right.”
🧱 Passive Voice
Towns don’t build themselves. Use the passive voice: “A new road was built” (not “They built a new road”).
🕰️ Time Travel
Pay close attention to dates. You will need to switch perfectly between Past Simple and Present Perfect tenses.
Essential Vocabulary for Maps
Building & Expanding
- Constructed / Built: “A new hospital was constructed.”
- Expanded / Extended: “The car park was extended to the north.”
- Replaced: “The old factory was replaced by a park.”
Removing & Destroying
- Demolished / Knocked down: “The houses were demolished.”
- Removed / Chopped down: “The forest was chopped down.”
- Cleared: “The area was cleared to make way for a mall.”
The Standard 4-Paragraph Structure
1. Introduction
- Paraphrase the prompt (e.g., “The maps illustrate the development of the town of X between…”).
2. Overview
- Describe the overall transformation (e.g., “Overall, the town became much more commercial and less residential”).
3. Detail Paragraph 1
- Group the changes geographically (e.g., everything that happened in the North and West).
- Describe what was there before, and what is there now.
4. Detail Paragraph 2
- Describe the changes in the other half of the map (e.g., the South and East).
Pro Tip: Prepositions of Place
Grammar points are heavily awarded here. Practice using phrases like: “to the north of,” “adjacent to,” “along the banks of the river,” and “in the south-west corner.”
