IELTS · Guides · October 23, 2026 · 5 min read
IELTS Listening map labelling: direction words, traps and a practice map
In map or plan labelling you see a map, a floor plan or a diagram with some places marked by letters, and a list of places to find. The speaker walks you through the map, and you write the letter for each place. It usually appears in Part 2, where one person gives a tour or explains a site: a park, a museum, a library, a town centre after redevelopment. Many candidates find it the hardest task in Listening, but it follows a fixed pattern, and the pattern can be learned.
What the task looks like
Questions 5–10. Label the map below. Choose the correct letter, A–H, for each place.
- café
- first aid point
- play area …
There are more letters than places: two or three spots on the map are described but not asked about. The places in the questions are usually listed in the order you will hear them.
Some plans have gaps to fill with words instead of letters, for example Write ONE WORD ONLY. The method is the same, but then spelling counts.
Before the recording: 30 seconds that decide the task
- Find your starting point. It is almost always marked: You are here, Entrance, Reception. Put your pencil on it.
- Find north, or decide what top and bottom mean. Speakers use both: in the north-east corner, at the top of the map.
- Name what is already labelled: roads, a river, a car park, a main path. The speaker will use these as landmarks.
- Read the list of places and think how they might be described. A café may be somewhere to get a drink; a first aid point may be where to go if anyone has an accident.
Direction phrases you will hear
| Position | Phrases |
|---|---|
| Next to | beside, next to, alongside, adjacent to, just by |
| Opposite | opposite, across from, facing, on the other side of |
| In front / behind | in front of, behind, at the back of, beyond |
| Between | between X and Y, halfway between, in the middle of |
| Corners | in the top left-hand corner, in the south-west corner |
| Movement | go straight ahead, turn left, follow the path to the end, carry on past, take the first right |
| Distance | just before you reach, a little further on, right at the end |
On your left changes meaning as the speaker turns. If the speaker says walk up the main path and turn right, everything after that is from the new direction. Move your pencil with the speaker.
Method during the recording
- Follow with your pencil. Do not wait for a place name; follow every step the speaker takes.
- Listen for the place first, then the position. Speakers often say The gift shop is on the left-hand side of the lake, so the place comes before its position, but not always.
- Write the letter as soon as you are sure, then move on. The next place comes quickly.
- Keep listening after the first position. Speakers correct themselves: The toilets were next to the shop, but they’ve been moved behind the café.
- If you miss one, guess later. Leave it and catch the next place. Use the letters that are left at the end.
Traps
- Corrections. The first position is the old one; the final position is the answer.
- Places that are described but not on the list. These are the extra letters. Hearing a description does not mean you need to write it down.
- Two places close together. The toilets are right next to the ticket office, on its left-hand side. You need both next to and left-hand side.
- Your left or the map’s left? In most tasks they are the same, because the speaker stands at the entrance at the bottom of the map. If the speaker is facing you, think again.
A worked example
Picture a plan of a small museum. The entrance is at the bottom, a corridor runs straight up the middle, and there are three rooms on each side, marked A–F from the bottom left: A, B, C up the left side and D, E, F up the right side. You need to label the shop and the cloakroom.
As you come in, the first room on your left is the shop. Well, it was until last month: we’ve moved the shop to the room directly opposite, so that people see it on their way out. The cloakroom is now where the shop used to be, and the room next to it, further along on the left, is the Egyptian gallery.
- Shop: D. The first room on the left is A, but the shop has moved directly opposite, to the first room on the right. The correction is the trap.
- Cloakroom: A. Where the shop used to be.
- B is the Egyptian gallery: described, but not on the list, so it is a distractor.
Practise with audio
These two Part 2 recordings each have a map or plan with letters A–H, six places to label and two distractors. Every answer is checked and explained with the line from the recording:
- A visit to a farm park: an outdoor map with paths, a pond and woodland
- A tour of the new library: a ground-floor plan
Changes to the town centre is a related task: you hear what will happen to each place in a town plan.
For the rest of the Listening test, see question types and the band score table.
Common questions
Is map labelling only in Part 2? Mostly. It can also appear in Part 1 (directions to a house) or Part 3 (a plan of a project).
How many questions are there? Usually five or six in one set, out of the ten in a part.
What if I lose my place? Look at the next place on the question list and listen for it. Do not keep searching for the one you missed.