IELTS Writing Task 1 Map
Two practice maps in the style of Academic Writing Task 1, with a model answer, the words for places and changes, and the mistakes that cost marks on map tasks. Write your report first, then put the maps and your report into the checker for a band on all four criteria.
The practice task
The maps below show the village of Elmford in 2000 and in 2025. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.
How to write a map report
- Introduction (one sentence). Which place the maps show and the two dates, in your own words.
- Overview (two or three sentences). The general direction of change (more built-up, more green, more roads) and anything important that stayed the same.
- Body paragraph 1. The changes in one area of the map, such as everything north of the main road.
- Body paragraph 2. The changes in the other area, with the position of each new feature.
Maps have no numbers, so the main features are the biggest changes and what they add up to. Here: the farmland became housing and a sports centre, the road now crosses the river, new facilities appeared south of the road, and the woodland shrank. The road, the shops and the river did not change.
Model answer
Try the task yourself before reading this. 168 words.
The maps show the village of Elmford in 2000 and in 2025.
Overall, the village became much more developed. The farmland and part of the woodland made way for housing and new facilities, and a new bridge took the main road across the river to the east bank. The main road, the shops and the river stayed the same.
The largest change took place north of the main road. The farmland that covered this whole area in 2000 was replaced by a housing estate in the west and a sports centre in the east. In addition, the main road was extended across the river by a new bridge, and a cycle path was laid along the west bank.
South of the road, the school was extended to almost twice its original size, and a car park was built next to the shops, between them and the river. The western half of the woodland was cleared to make room for a health centre, although the eastern half was kept.
Why this answer works
- The overview sums up the changes ("much more developed") and says what stayed the same, without listing every new building.
- It is organised by area: north of the road, then south of it. The examiner can follow it on the map.
- The passive voice ("was replaced by", "was extended", "was cleared") keeps the focus on the places, because the maps don't say who made the changes.
- Every new feature has a position: "in the west", "next to the shops", "along the west bank".
- It describes size where the map shows it: the school is "almost twice its original size", and half of the woodland is gone.
- It reports and doesn't explain. No reasons for the housing or the bridge, because the maps give none.
Map vocabulary for IELTS
| Meaning | Words | Example from this task |
|---|---|---|
| Replacing something | was replaced by, made way for, was converted into | The farmland was replaced by a housing estate. |
| Building | was built, was constructed, was laid (a road or path) | A car park was built next to the shops. |
| Making bigger or smaller | was extended, was enlarged, was reduced in size | The school was extended to almost twice its size. |
| Removing | was cleared, was demolished, disappeared | The western half of the woodland was cleared. |
| No change | remained, stayed the same, was unchanged | The shops remained in the same place. |
| Position | to the north of, in the west, next to, along, opposite | By 2025, a cycle path ran along the west bank of the river. |
Check the compass before you write: most maps put north at the top, but not all. Use the past simple passive for maps with two past dates ("was built"), and the present perfect passive when the second map is "now" or "today" ("has been built").
Map mistakes that cost the most marks
- Describing one map and then the other. Write about the changes, not two separate descriptions.
- No overview. Say what kind of change happened overall; without it, Task Achievement usually stays at 5.
- Active verbs with no subject. "They built a bridge" raises the question of who; "a bridge was built" doesn't.
- Wrong directions. East and west mixed up, or ignoring a compass that doesn't point up.
- Listing every small change in random order. Group them by area or by type.
- Explaining the changes. "Houses were built because the population grew" is your idea, not the map's.
More Academic Task 1 practice: the line graph, pie chart, bar chart and table. Process diagrams can also be checked on the Task 1 checker, and General Training has its own letter practice. For what each band needs, read the Task Achievement band descriptors, explained.