Academic Task 1: Maps Masterclass

The map task in Academic IELTS Task 1 can be difficult. However, if you have the right strategies and language, it does not have to be. In today’s session, let’s explore the world of IELTS maps and learn everything we need to know before the test day.

Understanding the Task Format

There have been IELTS exams where map tasks have had 3 or even 4 maps. However, in the last 5-7 years, only two-map tasks are seen, so we are not going to cover three-map or four-map tasks.

Here is what a map task looks like:

As you can see, it is divided into three parts:

• The top part that tells what the maps are about.
• The middle part that gives you instructions.
• The bottom part which has the maps.

The top and bottom parts of the task may change, but the middle part always stays the same. You are always required to ‘select and report’ the ‘main features’ and ‘make comparisons’ when ‘relevant’. A good starting point for today’s discussion can be this very requirement.

So what are main features? And, when is a comparison relevant?

Main Features

In the context of maps, main features are the changes that are the most important. Let’s understand this through this map:

A brief look at the above map shows that there are many changes that have taken place. There are around 15 changes. So, should you include all changes in your response? No! You pick only the most important ones. It is these changes that we call the ‘main features’.

In the above map, for instance, the replacement of Goode Farm by a Car Park and some houses is a big change and it must be included. However, is the zebra crossing on Market Street a big change? Probably not, so we can consider leaving it out.

Relevant Comparisons

In the context of maps, a relevant comparison means a comparison between similar things. For example, if you write: “The hotel now is bigger than it was in the past,” this is a relevant comparison. However, if you write something like: “The hotel is now bigger than the church,” this is not a good comparison as it is comparing two different things.

I hope you have understood the requirements clearly now. To simplify this further, all you need to do is:

• Focus on changes.
• Describe only changes that are big.
• Always compare similar things.

Now let’s move on to the main part, which is the paragraphing.

Ideal Paragraphing Structure

A 3 or 4 paragraph structure is good for map tasks.

Introduction - you simply rephrase the ‘about’ statement at the top of the map task.

Overview - a general overview of the changes.

Detail Paragraphs 1 and 2 - a detailed description of the changes.

• Note that you can write one big detail paragraph or two smaller ones.

To better understand this structure, let’s take a map task and do it step-by-step:

The map below shows the development of the village of Ryemouth between 1995 and 2005.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features and make comparisons where relevant.

Introductions

Like the graph tasks, the introduction of a map also describes what the task is about. Simply put, it is a rephrasing of the topic statement. Here is the topic statement of our map task:

”The map below shows the development of the village of Ryemouth between 1995 and 2005.”

You can rephrase it as:

The given pair of maps shows the changes that took place in Ryemouth between 1995 and 2005.

The underlined parts, as you can see, are the ones I have changed. You can compare them to the original statements.

Keep in mind, when rewording a sentence or a topic, a few changes are enough. Often, just changing around 3 words/phrases is enough.

For now, let’s move to the next part.

Overview

In the overview of a map task, you must not describe specific changes but focus on the general aspects of the changes. This may sound difficult but it is much easier. For most maps, you have these three options for your overview:

• Describe how large the changes are. Have all parts changed? Have only some parts changed? If yes, which ones?(North, South etc.)
• Describe the type of the change. What was the place like before (and after)? Usually the type of changes is about - agriculture, industry, or residence.
• In most cases the above two are enough, but if you are struggling, you can also focus on how the environment (green areas in particular) has been affected by the changes?

Here is how I would write the overview for our map:

Overall, there had been changes in all parts of Ryemouth in the given 10 years. As a result of these changes, Ryemouth had changed from an agricultural community into mainly a residential area.

Notice how there were farms, forests, and fish markets in Ryemouth earlier (indication of an agricultural community). These were mostly replaced by houses and apartments, a sign of a residential area. If instead of houses, there had been factories and commercial buildings, we could have said that Ryemouth had become an ‘industrial’ area.

Detail Paragraphs

The detail paragraph is where we face two challenges:

• Choosing which changes to select and report.
• The right language for different types of changes.

We will cover the language part in the next section of the guide. For now, let’s just focus on the first challenge. Unfortunately, there is no clear rule that can be followed here. You have to decide for yourself which changes seem important and which do not.

The good thing is that maps that do not have too many changes are easier as you can simply cover all the changes. We are going to do this for our map.

Here are my detail paragraphs for the map:

Looking closely at the map, the number of accommodations in the North West increased from 12 to 16. Towards the south, a few apartments replaced the fish market, while the fishing port can no longer be seen.

On the other side of the road, the restaurant is where a row of shops once used to be. Moving on, near the south-eastern coast, the hotel now has a car park. Moving on to the changes in the north-eastern part of the town, the biggest change is that the whole forest area was removed and a tennis court was built there. Next to it, the farmland was replaced by a golf course.

Final Sample Answer

The given pair of maps shows the changes that took place in Ryemouth between 1995 and 2005.

Overall, there had been changes in all parts of Ryemouth in the given 10 years. As a result of these changes, Ryemouth had changed from an agricultural community into mainly a residential area.

Looking closely at the map, the number of accommodations in the North West increased from 12 to 16. Towards the south, a few apartments replaced the fish market, while the fishing port can no longer be seen.

On the other side of the road, the restaurant is where a row of shops once used to be. Moving on, near the south-eastern coast, the hotel now has a car park. Moving on to the changes in the north-eastern part of the town, the biggest change is that the whole forest area was removed and a tennis court was built there. Next to it, the farmland was replaced by a golf course.

169 Words

Language For Maps - Two Basic Structures

To get a good score in grammatical range criteria, it is important to show use of different sentence structures. Following are two of the most basic structures used to describe changes on a map:

• Object + was/were + V3 (+direction + Year) A stadium was built in the north-eastern part of the town in year 2005.
• Verbal Noun + of + object + took place (+direction + year) Building of a stadium took place in the north-eastern part of the town in year 2005.

Exercise:

Complete this table with the noun forms of the verbs.

verb	noun	verb	noun
demolish	demolition	cut down	------------
replace	------------	construct	------------
open	------------	disappear	------------
urbanize	------------	introduce	------------
convert	------------	build	------------
transform	------------	pedestrianize	------------
redevelop	------------	expand	------------
knock down	------------	modernize	------------
enlarge	------------	industrialize	------------
extend	------------

Exercise:

Complete these sentences with the noun form of the verb in brackets.

1. It is interesting to note that there has been a ……… of the port area.(redevelop)
2. Another striking change is the ……… of the university.(expand)
3. A notable change has been the ……… of the old train station into a police station.(convert)
4. The whole city has experienced a significant ……… in the last ten years.(modernize)
5. An interesting development has been the ……… of a bike-rental scheme.(introduce)
6. There didn’t use to be a cinema or shops near the port, but the last few years have seen the ……… of new facilities in the port area.(build)

Language For Maps - Changes

Now let’s learn some words and phrases to describe maps. The following table shows the five common types of changes and the words/phrases you can use to describe them.

Change	Vocabulary and Phrases
➕ Added	Constructed, Built, Introduced, Added ⇆ Universal
	Grew (for vegetation), Launched (for facilities), Established (for organizations), Built (for infrastructure)
➖ Removed	Deleted, Cleared, Took away (for buildings)
	Cut down, Cleared (for vegetation)
	Disappeared, Vanished
🔄 Expanded	Made bigger, Broadened, Grew (for structures)
	Widened, Lengthened (for roads and infrastructure)
	Grew to cover a larger area
↘️↙️ Reduced	Made smaller, Narrowed (for structures)
	Decreased (for spaces or areas)
	Got smaller
🔀 Replaced	Changed, Switched, Exchanged
	Changed from X to Y
	Y now takes the place of X

Language For Maps - Directions

Using Absolute Locations

You can use the following phrases to refer to the absolute location of a structure on the map. These phrases can be used both at the beginning and the end of a sentence. Remember to add a comma following the expressions if used at the beginning.

• ...North of the town...
• in the North
• In the Northern part of the town
• In the middle of the town
• In the center of the map
• In the Northeast(ern) corner

Using Relative Locations

It is even more important to express the relative locations of structures, as this helps the cohesion of the text and shows higher language skills. Same as absolute directions, the following phrases can be used both at the beginning and the end of a sentence:

• just to the North/South of the College
• north of the college
• across the river/road
• along the river/road
• Just opposite the college
• to the left/right of the college
• Just next to the college
• next to the college
• Just meters away from the school
• on the other side of the town
• at the bank of the river
• at a short distance from the school
• On the left side of the school
• Further North/South/East/West

Exercise

1. In __________ near the coast, apartments have taken the place of the fish market.
2. To the __________ of the hotel, the forest park was cleared, and two tennis courts were built in some of the cleared land.
3. At a __________'s __________ from the cafe, a car park was provided.
4. __________ the road the __________ apartments, five restaurants were built.
5. A car park was provided __________ to the hotel. __________, the number of houses increased from 12 to 16.

Language For Maps - Present And Future Maps

It is possible that the second map in the task is in present or even future. In these cases, you should know how to change the sentence structures you have learnt accordingly.

Past	Present	Future
The stadium was built.	The stadium has been built.	The stadium will be built.
Building of stadium took place.	Building of stadium has taken place.	Building of stadium will take place.
Stadium was no longer there.	Stadium is no longer there.	Stadium will no longer be there.
Stadium can no longer be seen.	Stadium can no longer be seen.	Stadium can no longer be seen.
Stadium covered a larger area than before.	Stadium covers a larger area than before.	Stadium will cover a larger area than before.
Stadium made way for a park.	Stadium has made way for a park.	Stadium will make way for a park.
Park stood where stadium once used to be.	Park stands where stadium once used to be.	Park will stand where stadium once used to be.

• ‘Will’ can be replaced with ‘is likely to’, ‘is expected to’ etc.