What you’re looking at
Maps
Map tasks show two or more versions of the same area — usually a town, a building, or a piece of land — at different points in time, and ask you to describe how it changed. Occasionally you’ll compare two different locations instead of two time periods.
Unlike other Task 1 visuals, maps are not primarily about numbers. They’re about describing physical and spatial change clearly.
How to analyse it
Reading a map task before you write
What’s new, removed or changed?
Compare the two maps feature by feature: what appears in the later map that wasn’t there before, and what has disappeared.
What stayed the same?
Unchanged features are worth noting briefly, as they help orient the reader within the layout.
Where is each change located?
Use compass directions and relative position (north of, next to, opposite) to describe exactly where each change occurred.
What you should look for
Features worth reporting
The Biggest Overall Change
Is the area more developed, less developed, or reorganised in a specific way? This belongs in your overview.
Specific Additions and Removals
New buildings, roads or features — and anything that was demolished or removed — are the main content of your data paragraphs.
Vocabulary & terminology
Language for describing maps
Change verbs
was built / was demolished
“was constructed,” “was replaced by,” “was converted into,” “was demolished”
Position
to the north of / adjacent to
“to the north of,” “on the outskirts of,” “in the centre of,” “adjacent to,” “opposite”
No change
remained unchanged
“remained unchanged,” “stayed the same,” “was unaffected by the redevelopment”
Common mistakes
What costs candidates marks
Wrong Tense
Using the wrong tense structure — map tasks almost always require past tense (for past-to- present change) or past-to-future forms.
Vague Directions
Saying something changed “near the middle” instead of giving a precise, confident location.
Forgetting the Unchanged Features
Focusing only on what’s new and ignoring features that remained the same, which help orient the reader.
See it in practice
Example Task and Sample Answer
The example below is original and written for teaching purposes.
Example IELTS Task
The maps below show a small coastal village in 1990 and the same village in 2020.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Sample Answer
Sample Overview and Data Paragraph
The two maps show how a small coastal village changed between 1990 and 2020.
Overall, the village became significantly more developed over the thirty-year period, with several new buildings replacing open land, while the harbour at the centre of the village remained unchanged.
In 1990, the area to the north of the harbour was largely open farmland. By 2020, this land had been developed into a residential estate with a new access road connecting it to the village centre. To the south, a small fishing hut shown on the 1990 map had been demolished and replaced with a car park. The harbour itself, along with the original village church to the east, remained in the same position on both maps.
Why the Sample Works
Precise locations, clear tense
The sample uses precise directional language (north of, to the south, to the east) so a reader could follow the changes without seeing the original maps. It consistently uses past tense for the 1990-to-2020 comparison, and it includes the unchanged harbour and church to help orient the description.
Ready for the next step?
Explore another visual type.
Processes / Flow Charts
Learn how to explain the stages of a process from start to finish.
Structuring Your Answer
Review the overview-and-data framework that applies to every Task 1 visual.