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IELTS Listening Map Labelling: How to Follow Directions and Avoid Getting Lost

A practical strategy for IELTS Listening map and plan labelling questions: orient yourself, predict, follow direction language and recover if you miss an answer.

By IELTSora teaching team · Updated · 2 min read

Why map questions feel hard

Map and plan labelling usually appears in Section 2. You must follow a speaker moving around a place while matching locations to letters. Most mistakes come from losing your position, not from difficult vocabulary.

Use the preparation time well

Before the audio starts, spend your reading time on the map:

  • Find the starting point, often marked 'You are here' or an entrance.
  • Note the compass or which way is north, if shown.
  • Read the labels already given; the speaker will use them as landmarks.
  • Check that question numbers go in order around the map; answers come in sequence.

Direction language to know

Learn phrases such as opposite, next to, adjacent to, at the far end, on your left as you enter, just past, in the corner, behind, and between. Speakers also use 'go straight ahead', 'turn left at', and 'directly across from'.

Practice line

'If you go past the reception desk, the café is the first room on your right, opposite the gift shop.'

Locate reception, move past it, look right, and confirm it is opposite the gift shop before choosing the letter.

If you miss one

Do not stay on a missed question. Move your attention to the next landmark and guess the missed letter at the end. Leaving no blanks is always better, because wrong answers do not lose marks.

Frequently asked questions

Which Listening section has map questions?
Map and plan labelling usually appears in Section 2, though it can appear elsewhere.
Are there negative marks in IELTS Listening?
No. A wrong answer scores zero, so always write an answer for every question.

Put this tip into practice

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