IELTS Task 1 Maps Tutorial
Map tasks ask what has changed in a place and where. You need the language of location, the passive for changes, and the right tense for the dates on the maps.
About the figures on this page
Every figure, place and diagram on this page is invented by RCF English for practice. Nothing here describes a real country, town or dataset, and it must not be quoted as fact. The language you learn is exactly what real Task 1 questions need.
The task
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The maps below show the centre of a small town in 1990 and today.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
An invented town, drawn by RCF English for practice. The brown strip across the river in today's map is a new footbridge.
Show the figures as a table
| 1990 | Today |
|---|---|
| River; Main road; Primary school; Factory; Car park; Small shops | River; Main road; Primary school (extended); Apartments; Park; Supermarket |
Step by step: how to answer this task
Spend the first five minutes on steps 1 to 3. Candidates who start writing straight away usually miss the overview.
Understand what the visual shows (1 minute)
- What is shown? One place at two times, 1990 and today.
- What tense? From a past date to now: the present perfect passive (has been built). Past to past: the past simple. Now to the future: will be.
- Which way is north? Find the compass arrow. Here north is at the top.
Find the key features (2 minutes)
Ask what a person would notice from across the room. These become your overview and your body paragraphs.
- Unchanged: the river and the main road.
- North of the road: the factory has become apartments, with a footbridge beside them; the school has been extended.
- South of the road: the car park has become a park; the small shops have become a supermarket.
- Overall character: more homes and green space, no industry or car parking.
Plan four paragraphs (2 minutes)
- Introduction: paraphrase the task.
- Overview: the centre has become more residential and greener; the river and road are unchanged.
- Body 1: changes north of the main road.
- Body 2: changes south of the main road.
Write, then check (15 minutes)
- Write about 170 to 190 words. Under 150 is penalised.
- Start the overview with Overall so the examiner can find it.
- Support each point with one or two figures, not every figure.
- Leave three minutes to check tense, articles, prepositions and units.
Writing the introduction: paraphrase the question
Change the words, not the meaning. Language copied from the question is not counted in your word total.
| In the question | In your introduction |
|---|---|
| The maps below show | The two maps illustrate |
| the centre of a small town | how the central area of a small town |
| in 1990 and today | has changed since 1990 |
Location and change, with examples from these maps
| Purpose | Language | Example from these maps |
|---|---|---|
| Location | in the north-east, to the south of, beside, opposite, next to | The factory stood in the north-east, beside the river. |
| Replacement | was demolished and replaced by, has made way for | The factory has made way for apartments. |
| New features | has been built, has been constructed, a new ... has appeared | A footbridge has been built across the river. |
| Bigger | has been extended, has been enlarged, has expanded | The primary school has been extended considerably. |
| Change of use | has been converted into, has been turned into | The car park has been converted into a park. |
| No change | has remained unchanged, is still in the same place | The main road has remained unchanged. |
Which tense for which maps?
| The maps show | Tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| A past year and today | Present perfect passive | The factory has been replaced by apartments. |
| Two past years | Past simple passive, or past perfect with by | The factory was replaced by apartments. By 2010, a bridge had been built. |
| Today and a plan for the future | will be + past participle | The car park will be converted into a visitor centre. |
Model answer
Read it once for meaning, then again to see how each paragraph does its job.
Question: The maps below show the centre of a small town in 1990 and today. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The maps show the changes that have taken place in the centre of a small town between 1990 and the present day.
Overall, the town centre has become more residential and greener, with its industrial and parking areas removed, although the main road and the river have remained unchanged.
The most noticeable changes have occurred to the north of the main road. In the north-east, beside the river, the factory has been demolished and replaced by apartments, and a footbridge has been built across the river next to them. In the north-west, the primary school has been extended considerably and is now more than twice its original size.
South of the main road, the car park in the south-west corner has been converted into a park. To the east of this, the row of small shops has been replaced by a single supermarket, which occupies roughly the same site but covers a noticeably larger area.
Why this answer works
- The overview describes the overall character of the change and names what stayed the same, which is exactly what a map overview needs.
- It moves around the map logically: north of the road first, then south.
- The tense is right for maps that end today: the present perfect passive.
- Location language is precise: beside the river, in the north-west, in the south-west corner, to the east of this.
- It gives no opinion. Whether the changes are good is not asked.
From Band 5 to Band 7: sentences compared
Each weak sentence below shows a common type of mistake. The Band 7 version says the same thing accurately.
| Band 5 sentence | The problem | Band 7 version |
|---|---|---|
| In 1990 there was a factory. Today there are apartments. | Two separate facts with no link, and no location. | In the north-east, the factory has been demolished and replaced by apartments. |
| They built a park. | They is unclear, and the active voice hides the change. | A park has been created where the car park used to be. |
| The school is bigger in the up side. | Up side is not location language. | The school, in the north-west, has been extended. |
| The town is more modern and nicer now. | An opinion, not a description. | Overall, the town centre has become more residential, with industry and parking removed. |
Common mistakes with maps tasks
Do
- Find what has not changed first: it gives you fixed points
- Use compass directions and prepositions of place
- Use the passive for every change
- Move around the map in a logical order
- Check the dates on both maps before choosing your tense
Avoid
- Jump from one corner of the map to the opposite corner and back
- Say left and right when a compass is given
- Say whether the changes are an improvement
- Describe the first map completely and then the second map completely
- Forget to mention features that stayed the same
Your turn: a new task to try
Now write your own answer before you look at the model. Set a timer for 20 minutes.
The task: The maps below show a city park at present and the changes that are planned for it. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
Watch the tense. The second map is a plan, so the changes are in the future: will be replaced, is planned to be built.
An invented park, drawn by RCF English for practice. The brown strip across the lake in the planned map is a new footbridge.
Show the figures as a table
| Now | Planned |
|---|---|
| Lake; Open grass; Café; Tennis courts; Car park | Lake; Open grass; Playground; Restaurant; Sports hall; New car park; Visitor centre |
Check your answer
1. The key features you should have found
Your overview should contain the most important of these.
- The lake in the centre will stay the same, and a footbridge will be built across it.
- North: the open grass will be halved to make room for a playground; the café will become a larger restaurant.
- South: the tennis courts will be replaced by a sports hall; the car park will become a visitor centre, with a new car park to its west.
- Overall: more buildings and facilities, less open space.
2. Model answer (154 words)
The maps show a city park as it is at present and the changes that are planned for it.
Overall, the park will offer more facilities for visitors, with several areas redeveloped and less open space, but the lake at its centre will remain as it is.
In the northern half of the park, the area of open grass in the north-west will be reduced to about half its current size to make room for a children's playground to the south of it. In the north-east, the small café will be expanded into a much larger restaurant. A footbridge will also be built across the lake.
In the southern half, the tennis courts in the south-west will be replaced by a sports hall. The car park in the south-east will be converted into a visitor centre, and a new car park will be built to the west of it, just south of the lake.
3. Mark your own answer
Answer yes or no to each question. Every no is a place to improve.
- Did you paraphrase the question rather than copy it?
- Is there a separate overview paragraph starting with Overall?
- Does the overview give the main features without figures?
- Did you select the important figures instead of listing them all?
- Did you compare, using words such as whereas, while and by contrast?
- Is every tense right for the dates shown?
- Did you avoid giving reasons and opinions?
- Did you write at least 150 words?
More Task 1 tutorials
Line graph
Change over time: trends, peaks and sudden falls.
Bar chart
Comparing categories, and how they change.
Pie charts
Shares of a whole, and how they change.
Table
Many figures: select, group and compare.
Process diagram
Stages in order, in the passive voice.
Task 1 overview and language
The overview, the four-paragraph structure, tenses and the grammar of change.