Writing Task 1 - Maps

The maps below show the changes that took place in Youngsville, New Zealand over a 25 year period from
1980 to 2005

Before we look at how to organise the report, let‟s look at the grammar structures and vocabulary needed.

Verbs

i) Look at the following verbs used for describing maps. Decide if they mean to be removed or
placed there. Write a R (removed) or P (placed). The first two have been labeled for you.

Trees
R R
Cut down, removed, chopped down, brought down, cleared (away), planted

Buildings

Demolished, knocked down, constructed, built, erected

Railroads/roads

Extended, installed, placed, removed

Factories/Facilities

Established, installed, placed, put in, demolished, knocked down

Passive

As we don‟t know/care who made the changes, we use passive structures. The tense will depend on the
dates shown on the map. What tense would you use for the maps above? What tense would you use if the
second map was labeled with „present‟ instead of „2005‟?
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You form the passive like this:

Subject + be + past participle

A factory has been built

An apartment block was knocked down

Note: You can only use transitive verbs or verbs that are transitive and intransitive in the passive

ii) Complete the sentences about the maps above using passive:

1) To the south of the River Alanah, all of the trees ________ _______ _______ (cut down)
2) All of the houses to the south of the river between the railway and road _________ ________
________ (knock down)
3) Warehouses ________ _________ (establish) around the airport and school
4) In the north east of the town, some trees _________ ________ _______ (replace) a golf course.
5) In the north of the town, to the east of the park, a stadium _______ _______ (build)
6) The railway running along the side of the river _______ _______ (extend)

Describing location

Look at how the locations of the changes are described above using either directional language or
prepositions (or a combination if more accuracy is needed).

Here is a review of prepositions of location:

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Directional language

iii) Look at the example sentences describing location on the maps below. What’s the
difference between ‘in’ and ‘to’ when used in this way?

The railway station is in the south of Eastminster.

The school is to the north of the railway station.

iv) Describe the changes to your partner using both language of location and language of
direction.

When describing maps:

 We don‟t usually talk about the left and right, or top and bottom of a
map. We use north, south, east and west.
 Only capitalize directions when they are part of a proper noun, eg.
West Apple Street, Southeast Asia
north of the river, in the west of the town
 Notice that between north and east is north-east (not east-north!),
and between south and east is south-east.
 Don‟t forget your articles. Probably every singular noun in a map
report will need an article. Use ‘a/an’ to introduce a noun and then use ‘the’ to refer to it after
that.
 Plural nouns will need a quantifier (e.g. some, a number of, etc.)
Pay attention to difference in meaning between the prepositions, ‘in’ and ‘to’.

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 Structure for map report

Now that we have most of the language, we can look at the overall structure of the report. We use the
same 3 paragraph structure as for the previous task 1 reports.

Introduction

Again, we just paraphrase the introduction given:

Original: The maps below show the changes that took place in Youngsville, New Zealand over a 25 year
period from 1980 to 2005

Paraphrased: The maps show the developments which took place in the coastal town of Youngsville, New
Zealand between 1980 and 2005

Overview

For the overview, describe the general changes and write about the most noticeable differences
between the two maps.

In order to write about the general changes, we need some adjectives to describe overall features of the
town.

v) Match the following adjectives to their meanings:

Urban like the countryside

Rural leisure facilities

Industrial places to buy and sell things (e.g. shops)

Residential like the city

Recreational places to live

Commercial places related to money (e.g. banks)

Financial factories

Let‟s look at how the vocabulary is used in the overview from the Youngsville maps:

Overall, the town changed from a mostly residential area to a more urban landscape with
significantly fewer trees.

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 Detail paragraphs

The detail paragraphs should be divided based on sections of the map.

vi) Look at the following model answer for the Youngsville maps. Fill in the gaps and answer
the question.

The maps show the developments which took place in the coastal town of Youngsville, New Zealand
between 1980 and 2005. Overall, the town changed from a mostly residential area to a more urban
landscape with significantly fewer trees.

____________ all of the trees were cut down, with all of the houses along the railway being knocked
down and replaced by skyscrapers. __________ a new industrial area with factories and warehouses
were established around the airport and school.

_______________except for a few trees near the lake, the rest were cleared away to make way for a
golf course and car parking facilities. ____________ were the construction of a _______near the
northeast corner of the lake and a new stretch of railway running directly north. A marina was also built
at the mouth of the ______.

vii) How is the information divided between the two detailed paragraphs?

To the south of the River Alanah, Moreover, Looking north of the river,

Further developments river stadium

Report writing summary

1. Read Summary

 Where are the maps comparing?

 Look at the dates on the maps. This will tell you the tense to write in.
 Use passive, language of direction and language of location (prepositions)

2. Analyze data
 General (for overview – mention the general changes using adjectives. Mention some of
the most significant changes) Don‟t say things like „There are several noticeable
changes‟
 Specific (for details – divide the map into two parts using a feature of the area, e.g. a
river, main road). Use one detail paragraph to compare each of the divided parts.

3. Check for grammar and vocabulary errors after writing

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The maps below show the changes that took place at the seaside
town of Templeton between 1990 and 2005.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main

features, and make comparisons where relevant.

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