In this post: change verbs such as converted into, replaced by and relocated to, location words like to the north of and adjacent to, and whether to split your body paragraphs by time or by area.
Map Questions · 4 parts
- 1. Question type and tenses
- 2. Change verbs, places and paragraphs (you are here)
- 3. The Overview and two rewrites
- 4. Mistakes, routine and practice
✦ In this post
3. Change verbs: demolish, build, convert, relocate, expand
Your LR score on a map question depends almost entirely on this table. Do not use only “build” and “replace” throughout an essay; choose the word that matches the actual change on the map:
| Change | Verb (passive) | Model sentence or my original |
|---|---|---|
| A becomes B (replacement) | A has been replaced by B / B has taken the place of A | a water feature has taken the place of former glasshouse (Task 18; small fix: “the former glasshouse”) |
| A is converted into B (building still there) | A has been converted into B / turned into B | The castle has been converted into a hotel. (model) |
| Demolition | be demolished / be knocked down / be removed | all of the factories will be demolished (Task 31) |
| New building | be built / be constructed / be added / be erected | a new entrance to underground car park has been built (Task 18) |
| Relocation | be relocated to / be moved to | it was relocated on the right side of the city hospital (Task 19; small fix: “relocated to the east of the hospital”) |
| Expansion | be extended / be expanded / be enlarged / be widened | roads will be expanded (Task 31) |
| Reduction | be reduced in size / be narrowed | the original park will be narrowed (Task 46; small fix: “reduced in size”) |
| No change | remain unchanged / stay the same / no changes are made to | the location of the school will remain unchanged (Task 46) |
| Change of use | the area that once housed A now accommodates B | the section which previously housed a rose garden and a pond for water plants now accommodates a cafe and a children’s play area (Task 18) |
From my essays: good sentences and sentences to fix
✓ Good: On the right side, the section which previously housed a rose garden and a pond for water plants now accommodates a cafe and a children’s play area.
(Task 18) “Previously housed … now accommodates …” puts the old and new information in the same sentence. It is the single most useful frame to memorise for map questions.
✓ Good: Finally, the location of the school will remain unchanged.
(Task 46) A last sentence on what has not changed shows the reader that you have looked at the whole map. In my notes I specifically marked this kind of sentence “put it last”.
✗ Original: … and all the seats have been knocked-out and relocated to other places.
→ Revised: … and the seats around it have been removed.
(Task 18) Demolition is “knock down”, not “knock out” (to hit someone unconscious, or to eliminate from a competition). “Relocated to other places” is too vague: if the map does not show where something went, do not say it moved.
✗ Original: The main road will be taken place by a pedestrians only pathway.
→ Revised: The main road will be replaced by a pedestrian-only street.
(Task 46) The phrase is “take the place of”, and it cannot be turned into a passive “be taken place by”. Used as an adjective, “pedestrian-only” needs a hyphen and the singular form.
4. Location words: to the north of, adjacent to, opposite
Location words are where map essays most often have the right meaning but the wrong usage. In my notes I specifically worked out the difference between “to the north of” and “in the north of”:
| Expression | Meaning | Model sentence or my original |
|---|---|---|
| in the north of X | In the northern part of X (inside it) | Farmland lies in the north of the map. (model) |
| to the north of X | North of X (outside it) | two outdoor courts are located to the east and to the west of the indoor stadium, respectively (Task 38) |
| north-west / south-east | Compound directions: north or south comes first | a school in the west-south (Task 46) → in the south-west |
| next to / beside / adjacent to | Right beside | a new entrance … has been built next to the water feature (Task 18) |
| opposite / across from | Facing | Cafés and shops now stand opposite the docks. (model) |
| in the centre of / in the middle of | In the middle | a former fountain in the middle of the park (Task 18) |
| on the left / right of | For maps without a compass | a changing room is on the left hand side (Task 38; small fix: “on the left-hand side”) |
| along / running from A to B | Roads, rivers | a main road goes through from west to east (Task 46; small fix: “runs from west to east”) |
| surrounded by | Enclosed on all sides | a city hospital was surrounded by a ring road (Task 19) |
✗ Original: … a farmland is located in the north while a town is settled in the southern part of the river.
→ Revised: … farmland lies to the north of the river, while the town is situated to the west.
(Task 31, TA 6) Checking the map, the town is to the west of the industrial area, not south of the river; south of the river are the factories. A wrong direction is wrong information, and it affects TA. “Farmland” is uncountable, so no “a”.
✗ Original: Besides, a new space for cafes and shops are constructed next to a lifeboat, which locates across from the ducks.
→ Revised: A row of cafés and shops has been built next to the lifeboat station, opposite the docks.
(Task 33) “Locate” is transitive, so “to be in a place” is “is located”; “docks” was spelt “ducks”; and the subject “space” is singular, so the verb cannot be “are”.
Another key point with location words is that the reference point must be clear. In the industrial area essay I wrote a new medical center and shops will be constructed in the northeast and in the northwest of the roundabout. I had just mentioned the new roundabout, but there are two roundabouts on the map, so writing “to the north-east and north-west of the new roundabout” would have removed the ambiguity with one extra word. A location word always needs a reference point the reader can find.
5. Paragraphing: by time vs by area
| Split | Body 1 | Body 2 | My examples and CC |
|---|---|---|---|
| By time (recommended) | The overall layout of the old map (or the current situation) | The changes in the new map (or the plan): old information + new information | Tasks 31, 33, 38 and 46 (CC 8); Task 19 (CC 7) |
| By area | Then and now for one area | Then and now for another area | Task 18: one paragraph each for the centre, left and right (CC 6) |
Splitting by area is not forbidden, and plenty of people do it. But when I did it in the park essay, every paragraph had to switch back and forth between 1920 and today, jumping between the past simple and the present perfect, and in the first paragraph I even described the “four benches”, which only exist today, with “there were”. If you split by time, Body 1 is all in the past simple (or present simple) and Body 2 is all in the present perfect (or “will”), so the tenses naturally stay in order.
When you split by time, Body 2 cannot just say “what is on the new map”; it must say “what has become what”. The principle in my notes is: refer back to the old information, then give the new information. For example, instead of just There is a hotel, write The castle has been converted into a hotel. Also, the first sentence of each paragraph should state what the paragraph is about, for example Regarding the map now, … or Moving to its future plan, …, so that the reader can see at once which map it covers.
If you really need to split by area
For some maps the changes are very numerous and concentrated in different zones (an airport or a campus, for example), and splitting by area is actually clearer. In that case, follow three rules. First, cover only one area per paragraph and name it in the opening sentence (In the western part of the site, …). Second, keep the order “old first, then new” inside each paragraph, with the past simple for the old and the present perfect for the new; do not jump around. Third, define the areas with the compass or clear reference points, not “left” and “right”, which change depending on how you hold the map, unless the map has no compass.
How detailed should Body 1 be?
When you split by time, the job of Body 1 is to show the reader what the place looked like originally. You do not need every small item; just pick the things that will change later. In the town centre essay (Task 46) my Body 1 covered the main road, two rows of shops, the countryside to the north, the housing to the south, the park to the east and the school to the south-west. These were exactly the elements Body 2 came back to, so the two paragraphs echoed each other, and CC got 8.
Continue reading · Part 3 of 4
IELTS Notes in English · Task 1 Structure (post 6 of 7)
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✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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