Lesson 9 of 22
Describing maps and plans
Maps test your ability to describe spatial information. Establish the dates or proposal status, the main transformation, and the important locations.
First identify the fixed reference points: a road, entrance, river, coastline, or central building. Then track what was added, removed, replaced, moved, enlarged, or retained.
| Change | Useful expression |
|---|---|
| Addition | A clinic was built beside the station. |
| Removal | The warehouse was demolished. |
| Replacement | The car park was replaced by a public garden. |
| Conversion | The school was converted into apartments. |
| Enlargement | The library was extended to the west. |
| Relocation | The entrance was moved to the southern side. |
| No change | The main road remained unchanged. |
| Proposal | A footbridge is planned across the river. |
“Converted” usually suggests that an existing building changes use. “Replaced” allows for one feature to be removed and another to occupy its place. Choose the description that matches the plan.
Location language
Use “in the northern part,” “to the east of,” “opposite,” “adjacent to,” “between,” “along,” and “at the junction of.” If no north direction is established, use the top, bottom, left, or right of the plan rather than assuming its orientation.
“In the north of the site” places something within the northern section. “To the north of the site” generally places it outside and northward of the site.
Choose the tense from the comparison
For two completed past dates, use past forms: “By 2020, the warehouse had been replaced by a clinic,” or simply “In 2020, a clinic occupied the former warehouse site.”
For a past-to-present comparison, present perfect forms often fit: “The warehouse has been replaced by a clinic.” For a future proposal, use forms such as “will be built” or “is planned.”
Passive forms are useful when the people making the changes are unspecified. You can also use active spatial descriptions: “A garden now occupies the central area.”
Organise geographically or by the earlier layout followed by changes. Make the comparisons explicit whichever method you choose. Avoid listing two unrelated descriptions that force the reader to discover the changes alone.