Task 1 – maps and plans
How to describe changes to a place in IELTS Writing Task 1, with the language of location and change, tense rules and a complete worked example.
A map task shows a place at two different times, or sometimes a place now and a plan for its future, or two alternative proposals. You describe where things are and how the place has changed. Like processes, maps contain no statistics, and like processes they reward a specific set of language that can be learned in advance.
Types of map task
| Type | Example | Tense |
|---|---|---|
| Past → past | A village in 1980 and 2010 | Past simple; past perfect with by 2010 |
| Past → present | A town centre in 1995 and today | Past simple for then; present perfect for changes (has been built); present simple for now |
| Present → future | A school now and the planned development | Present simple; will be, is going to be, is planned/due to be |
| Two proposals | Two possible sites for a supermarket | Present simple; would be |
Check the dates before you write a word. Tense errors are the commonest grammar problem in map answers.
Structure
| Paragraph | Content |
|---|---|
| Introduction | What the maps show (place, dates) |
| Overview | The most significant overall changes |
| Body 1 | One area of the map, or the earlier situation and the first group of changes |
| Body 2 | The remaining area or the second group of changes |
Two sensible ways to organise the body:
- By area: the north of the map, then the south; or the area west of the river, then the east.
- By type of change: housing and buildings, then roads and facilities.
Avoid describing the first map completely and then the second map completely. That produces two separate descriptions and very little comparison. It is better to move across the map, saying for each feature what it was and what it became.
The overview for maps
Ask yourself: if I had to summarise the development in one or two sentences, what would I say?
Common themes:
- more residential / more commercial / more industrial
- less farmland, woodland or open space
- better transport (new roads, a station, a bridge, a car park)
- more leisure facilities
- a larger or more modern site
Overall, the village changed from a small agricultural community into a much larger residential area. Most of the farmland was replaced by housing, and the road network and local facilities were expanded considerably.
The language of change
Most changes are expressed in the passive, because we do not know or care who made them.
| Kind of change | Verbs (given in the past passive) |
|---|---|
| Something new | was built, was constructed, was erected, was added, was opened, was introduced, was set up |
| Something removed | was demolished, was knocked down, was pulled down, was removed, was cut down (trees), was cleared |
| Replacement | was replaced by, made way for, was turned into, was converted into, was redeveloped as |
| Bigger | was extended, was enlarged, was expanded, was widened (roads), was doubled in size |
| Smaller | was reduced in size, was made smaller, was narrowed |
| Moved | was relocated to, was moved to |
| Improved | was modernised, was renovated, was upgraded, was pedestrianised |
| No change | remained unchanged, was still there, stayed in the same place, was unaffected |
Noun forms add variety:
the construction of a new bridge; the demolition of the factory; the extension of the car park; the conversion of the farm buildings into flats; the addition of a second runway; the removal of the trees
The most striking change was the construction of a housing estate on the former farmland.
Useful sentence openers:
- One notable change was that…
- The area to the north of the river saw considerable development.
- A further development was the addition of…
- The farmland which/that used to lie east of the road had disappeared by 2010.
- The site previously occupied by the factory was redeveloped as a park.
- Where the school had stood, there was now a supermarket.
The language of location
| Type | Expressions |
|---|---|
| Compass | in the north/south-east of the village; to the west of the river; on the eastern side; in the north-west corner |
| Relative | next to, beside, opposite, behind, in front of, between A and B, adjacent to, close to, near |
| Along lines | along the river, on the bank of, on either side of the road, at the end of, at the junction of, running north to south |
| Areas | in the centre, on the outskirts, on the edge of, in the surrounding area |
Prepositions to be careful with:
- in the north of the town (inside it) vs to the north of the town (outside, beyond it)
- on the river / on the coast / on Main Road
- at the corner / at the junction
Use the compass if the map has one. Do not use left and right or top and bottom when compass points are available.
Worked example
Task: The maps below show the village of Ashby in 1985 and 2020.
1985: A main road runs east–west through the village. North of the road: farmland in the west, a primary school in the centre, woodland in the east. South of the road: a row of shops, a post office, and about twenty houses. A river runs along the southern edge, with a footbridge.
2020: The farmland has become a housing estate. The school is larger and has a sports field where part of the woodland was; the rest of the woodland remains. A roundabout has been added on the main road with a new road leading north to the estate. South of the road: the shops remain; the post office is now a café; the houses are unchanged; a car park has been built next to the shops. The footbridge has been replaced by a road bridge.
Model answer (187 words)
The two maps show how the village of Ashby developed over the thirty-five years between 1985 and 2020.
Overall, the village became considerably more built-up, with housing replacing all of the farmland. In addition, its road links were improved and several facilities were added or enlarged, although the area south of the main road changed far less than the north.
In 1985, the land north of the main road consisted of farmland in the west, a primary school in the centre and woodland in the east. By 2020, the farmland had been replaced by a housing estate, which was reached by a new road running north from a roundabout on the main road. The school had been extended, and a sports field had been laid out beside it on what was formerly part of the woodland.
South of the road, the row of shops and the houses remained unchanged, but the post office had been converted into a café and a car park had been built next to the shops. On the river, the original footbridge had made way for a road bridge.
What to notice
- Organisation by area (north, then south), with before and after for each feature.
- Past simple for the 1985 situation; past perfect passive with By 2020 for the changes: had been replaced, had been extended, had been laid out, had been converted, had been built.
- Variety in verbs of change: replaced, reached by, extended, laid out, converted into, built, made way for; and one ‘no change’ statement.
- Precise location: north of the main road, in the west, beside it, next to the shops, on the river.
- The overview notes a contrast (north changed more than south), which shows the examiner a real grasp of the whole picture.
Maps of the future and proposals
According to the plan, the car park will be moved to the north of the site, and a new science block is to be built where it currently stands. The playing field is expected to remain unchanged.
Other future passives: is going to be demolished, is due to be completed, is planned to be extended, will have been replaced by 2030.
For two alternative proposals, compare advantages that are visible on the map (distance from housing, access by road) but still give no personal opinion.
Common mistakes
- Wrong tense for the time frame.
- Active voice with no agent: ✗ They built a car park. → ✓ A car park was built.
- Two separate descriptions instead of changes.
- Vague location: ✗ There is a new building somewhere on the right.
- Listing every tree and house. Select the significant changes and group small ones.
- Explaining why changes happened (because the population grew). The map does not say.
Key points
- Identify the time frame first; it decides your tenses.
- Overview: the general nature of the change (more housing, less green space, better transport).
- Organise by area or by type of change, giving before and after together.
- Use passive verbs of change and their noun forms.
- Give exact locations with compass points and prepositions.
Now try it in a real section
A complete IELTS writing section in the official format — every answer explained.
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