WRITING TASK 1- MAP

I. General Information
- Requirements:
- Word count: 150 words
- Allocated time: 20 minutes
- Marking criteria:
o Task Achievement (dạy focus trong task 1)
o Coherence & Cohesion (phát triển nhiều Task 2)
o Lexical Resource
o Grammatical Range & Accuracy
- There are three main types of map questions:
o Describe one map of the present day.
o Describe two maps- one in the present and one in the future.
o Describe two maps- one in the past and one in the present.
- Note: Changes are mostly man-made, so we will use the passive voice
frequently. However, in some cases, active voice can be used to increase
grammatical range.
II. Structure
To describe two maps, a four-paragraph structure is needed.
(1) Introduction: Paraphrase question using synonyms.
- Map = diagram.
- Show = compare.
(2) Overview: Make two general statements about the map. You should
describe the maps generally and write about the most noticeable
differences between the two maps.
You could ask yourself the following questions to identify general
changes:
- Does the map become more or less residential?
- Is there more or less countryside?
- Are there more or fewer trees?
- Were the changes dramatic or negligible?
- Were there any major infrastructure improvements?
- How have the buildings and leisure facilities changed?
(3) Main Body 1: Three to four sentences about specific changes that have
occurred.
(4) Main Body 2: Further, three to four sentences about specific changes that
have occurred.
- Tips: You can group information in paragraphs 3 and 4 by time or
location, depending on the question asked.
III. Building Lexical Resources
As this is an IELTS writing task 1 question, we must write an overview,
where we generally talk about the main changes between the two maps. For the
main body parts, we need to describe specific changes.
How to Describe General Changes (overview)
Pick two or three of the most noticeable differences on the map and write a
general statement for each. This will be your overview paragraph.
Example:
- Over the period, the area witnessed dramatic changes.
- From …. to …., the city center saw spectacular developments.
- The village changed considerably over the period.
- During the …. -year period, the industrial area was totally transformed.
- Over the past … years, the residential (khu dân cư) area was totally
reconstructed.
- Over the period, the old docks (bến cảng) were totally redeveloped.
- Between … and …, the old houses were rebuilt.
- The central business district was completely modernized during the
period.
How to Describe Specific Changes (body)
- The ability to describe changes is crucial to answering these questions.
The various buildings and features will normally be labelled for you. You need
to work on how to write about how they have changed. Here are some useful
vocabularies:
o To describe changes of buildings: Demolished, knocked down,
flattened, replaced, renovated, built, constructed, reconstructed,
developed, extended, expanded, relocated, converted and
modernized.
o To describe changes of trees and forests: Cleared, cut down,
chopped down, removed, planted.
o To describe changes of roads, bridges and railways lines:
Constructed, built, extended, expanded and removed.
o To describe changes of leisure facilities: Opened, set up,
developed.
-You will also be expected to describe where things are maps and describe
where changes have occurred.
- Tips:
(1) You may be asked to describe your hometown in the speaking test.
The vocabulary and grammar in this post should come in very useful.
(2) You can use ‘to the left’ and ‘to the right’, but a better way is to use
‘north’, ‘south’, ‘east’ and ‘west’. I normally advise my students to draw the
symbols on the question paper if they are not already there.
 (3) You will also be expected to use prepositions of place (at, in, on, by,
besides, to, off, from…) to describe where things are.
IV. Exercise
The maps below show changes in the city of Nelson in recent times.
Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features
and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.

Answer
The given maps depick how Nelson’s city has changed since 2000.
In the Northeast, a forest has been replaced by a new shopping centre since
2000.
The train station in the West was modernized and relocated to the South of the
university.
A hall of residence was constructed to the left of the university.
The central bike rental scheme was set up in the city centre.
To the left of the city centre, there has been a new shop which’s replaced the
position of an old market.
The old market was mordernized and relocated to the right of the city centre.
The road was converted into pedestrians-only area.
The port at the bottom of the map has remained unchanged.
There was a restaurant and a bars-and-clubs venue which was constructed
between the road and the port.