In this post: how to write an Overview that captures the overall change, two body paragraphs from my harbour and hospital essays rewritten line by line, and a vocabulary table for map questions.
Map Questions · 4 parts
- 1. Question type and tenses
- 2. Change verbs, places and paragraphs
- 3. The Overview and two rewrites (you are here)
- 4. Mistakes, routine and practice
✦ In this post
6. The Overview: capture the overall change
The Overview of a map question should not list details. It should say in one or two sentences what the place has become overall. These are the most common kinds of overall change:
| Overall change | Overview frame (model) |
|---|---|
| More urban, more housing | Overall, the area will become far more residential, with factories giving way to housing. |
| More facilities, more functions | Overall, the park has changed from a purely ornamental garden into a multi-functional space. |
| Better transport | Overall, road access has been reorganised, with separate facilities for buses, staff and the public. |
| Only partial change | Overall, the harbour has seen considerable development, although its basic layout remains the same. |
✓ Good: Overall, the town is going to witness dramatic changes; roads are planned to be expanded, and several facilities are going to be built to cater to various users.
(Task 46) The big picture (dramatic change) plus two specific directions (roads and facilities).
✓ Good: Overall, it is planned to undergo dramatic changes; a number of housing areas and new facilities are going to be built in the future. Additionally, roads will be expanded and a new bridge will be constructed.
(Task 31) Both sentences give specific directions. It would be even stronger if the first sentence said that the area changes from industrial to residential.
✗ Original: In 2007, the only transportation allowed to park in hospital was car; in contrast, in 2010, it catered to various visitors by increasing the space of different transportation.
→ Revised: Overall, access to the hospital was reorganised between 2007 and 2010, with the addition of two roundabouts and a bus station, and separate car parks for staff and the public.
(Task 19, TA 5) “The only transportation allowed to park” and “increasing the space of different transportation” are both very vague, and they do not name the three most important changes. A map Overview needs a specific big picture, not an abstract description.
The Overview of the park essay (Task 18) is also worth mentioning: In the past, most of the facilities were related to planet and nature; in contrast, now it caters to various visitors’ needs since it has changed into a multi-functioned park. It captured the direction well: from a park focused on plants and nature to a multi-functional park, which is exactly the biggest difference between the two maps. The only problems are that “planet” should be “plants” (another misspelling that is still a real English word), and “multi-functioned” is normally “multi-functional”. The Overview of the sports centre essay, which said the indoor space would be enlarged and the facilities would become more varied, followed the same thinking: first find how the “character” of the two maps differs, then say it in one sentence.
7. Rewrite: Body 2 of the harbour essay
The harbour essay (Task 33) got 8 for CC, with very clear paragraphs, but only 6 for both LR and GRA. Almost every sentence in the second body paragraph had a grammar problem, and it also left out a new facility: a block of showers and toilets between the two car parks. Here is the original and a model rewrite:
Original (Task 33, Body 2, unchanged)
Regarding today’s harbour, more passenger ferries are allowed because of an additional constructed dock. A hotel is replaced the castle, and the private is been taken by a private one that only for hotel’s guests. Besides, a new space for cafes and shops are constructed next to a lifeboat, which locates across from the ducks. Moreover, the places which previously accommodated fishing boats and marina now changes to store marina and fishing boats, respectively.
Model rewrite
Today, a second dock has been added, allowing more passenger ferries to use the harbour. The castle has been converted into a hotel, and the public beach beside it has become a private beach for hotel guests. A row of cafés and shops has been built next to the lifeboat station, and a second block of showers and toilets now stands between the two car parks. Meanwhile, the marina and the fishing boat area have swapped places.
- is replaced, is been, are constructed → consistently the present perfect passive (has been converted, has been built) to describe changes from the past to today.
- the private is been taken by a private one → the public beach … has become a private beach: the original was missing the word “beach” and also wrote “private” instead of “public”.
- ducks → docks; “which locates” is deleted, and “next to” places the building directly.
- The new showers and toilets are added: a new facility the original left out.
- The last sentence uses “swapped places” to explain the exchange of two positions in one go.
Also, the first body paragraph of this essay (the year 2000) said two docks were constructed, but checking the map, there was only one dock in 2000; there are two today. Once Body 1 was wrong, “an additional constructed dock” in Body 2 contradicted it. This reminded me that even though map questions have no numbers, you still need to count quantities carefully.
Rewrite: Body 2 of the hospital roads essay
The hospital roads essay (Task 19) was my lowest-scoring map essay, with TA 5 and GRA 6. The second body paragraph had most of the information, but the tenses and sentence structure made it hard to follow. This is a “past → past” question, so the changes need the past perfect:
Original (Task 19, Body 2, unchanged)
In 2010, the section once housed a car park for both staff and public accommodated staff only car park. As for a park for public cars, it was relocated on the right side of the city hospital. In addition, former six bus stops had been knocked out, and there were two roundabouts had been built on two sides of the hospital road, connecting a bus station on the left.
Model rewrite
By 2010, access to the hospital had been significantly reorganised. The car park east of Hospital Road, previously shared by staff and the public, had become a staff-only car park, while a separate public car park had been built to the east of the hospital. The six bus stops had been removed, and two roundabouts had been added at either end of Hospital Road, with a new bus station located between them to the west.
- A topic sentence is added first (access … had been significantly reorganised), so the reader knows the point of the paragraph.
- the section once housed → previously shared by: the original was missing “that/which”, and “once housed” does not suit a change in how a car park is used.
- relocated on the right side → built to the east of the hospital: with a compass, use compass directions; and the correct collocation is “relocated to”.
- knocked out → removed; there were … had been built → had been added: this fixes the phrase error and the two-verbs-in-one-clause problem together.
8. Vocabulary for maps
| Category | Words and phrases |
|---|---|
| Place nouns | residential area, housing, industrial area, farmland, countryside, town centre, car park, roundabout, dual carriageway, pedestrian zone, dock, marina |
| Position verbs | be located, be situated, lie, stand, be positioned |
| Road verbs | run from A to B, connect A to B, lead to, cross, go through |
| Use of space | house, accommodate, contain, be occupied by, make way for |
| Overall change | undergo dramatic changes, become more residential / urbanised / modernised, multi-functional, cater to the needs of |
| Time adverbs | previously, formerly, originally, once, now, currently, in the future |
Continue reading · Part 4 of 4
IELTS Notes in English · Task 1 Structure (post 6 of 7)
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Task 1 Structure · Task 2 Structure · Topic Guides · Writing Language · Band Score Samples · Practice Methods · Speaking & Study Tips
✦ 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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