# IELTS Listening map labelling: following directions you hear once

Plan, map and diagram labelling asks you to label places on a visual from a spoken description. How it is marked, three worked items with a map, and the direction words that decide it.

## Exercises

Exercises marked (free) are open to everyone; a free account opens the rest.

- [Croft Valley Park, questions 11-16](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/croft-valley-park) (free)
- [Holiday Flat Information and Troubleshooting, questions 11-13](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/holiday-flat-information-and-troubleshooting) (free)
- [Green Vale Agricultural Park Overview, questions 12-14](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/green-vale-agricultural-park-overview) (free)
- [Transport and Attractions in the City, questions 11-12](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/transport-and-attractions-in-the-city) (free)
- [Robotic Floats in Ocean Research, questions 23-25](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/robotic-floats-in-ocean-research) (free)
- [The Birth of Susan's Baby, questions 3-5](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-birth-of-susans-baby) (free)
- [Orientation at Smith House College, questions 12-14](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/orientation-at-smith-house-college) (free)
- [The Paper Recycling Assignment, questions 21-25](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-paper-recycling-assignment) (free)
- [Tourist Information about the Village, questions 11-15](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/tourist-information-about-the-village) (free)
- [Learning Resource Center: Layout Changes and Staff Specialties, questions 11-15](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/learning-resource-center-layout-changes-and-staff-specialties) (free)
- [Regional Walks and Melby Mine, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/regional-walks-and-melby-mine)
- [Archaeological Excavation of an Ancient Village, questions 17-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/archaeological-excavation-of-an-ancient-village)
- [Stanthorpe and Malatte Twinning Association, questions 16-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/stanthorpe-and-malatte-twinning-association)
- [Housing Development, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/housing-development)
- [Stevenson's Metal Goods Company and Work Experience Program, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/stevensons-metal-goods-company-and-work-experience-program)
- [Town Infrastructure Updates and Proposals, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/town-infrastructure-updates-and-proposals)
- [Minster Park, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/minster-park)
- [Visit to Branley Castle, questions 16-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/visit-to-branley-castle)
- [Traffic changes in Granford, questions 14-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/traffic-changes-in-granford)
- [Visiting Sheepmarket area, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/visiting-sheepmarket-area)
- [Fiddy Working Heritage Farm, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/fiddy-working-heritage-farm)
- [New staff at theatre, questions 17-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/new-staff-at-theatre)
- [Basement of Museum, questions 17-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/basement-of-museum)
- [Introduction to the Wildlife Club and Nearby Areas, questions 17-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/introduction-to-the-wildlife-club-and-nearby-areas)
- [Improvement Plan for Red Hill Suburb, questions 14-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/improvement-plan-for-red-hill-suburb)
- [A Tour of the Bicentennial Park, questions 15-17](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/a-tour-of-the-bicentennial-park)
- [A Tour of Rosewood: Home of Sebastian George, questions 14-17](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/a-tour-of-rosewood-home-of-sebastian-george)
- [Riverside Industrial Village: History and Site Overview, questions 14-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/riverside-industrial-village-history-and-site-overview)
- [Assignment Problems and Reading Materials, questions 28-30](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/assignment-problems-and-reading-materials)
- [Orientation at the Language School, questions 6-10](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/orientation-at-the-language-school)
- [A Hat-making Project for School Students, questions 38-40](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/a-hat-making-project-for-school-students)
- [The College Sports Centre, questions 17-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-college-sports-centre)
- [Healthy Eating on a Student Budget, questions 40-41](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/healthy-eating-on-a-student-budget)
- [Space Management in Supermarkets, questions 38-42](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/space-management-in-supermarkets)
- [The Aluminium Coke Can: A Presentation Idea, questions 26-31](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-aluminium-coke-can-a-presentation-idea)
- [Community Gardens Volunteer Tasks and Instructions, questions 15-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/community-gardens-volunteer-tasks-and-instructions)
- [The Anglia Sculpture Park Introduction, questions 17-20](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/the-anglia-sculpture-park-introduction)
- [Booking a Community Garden Plot, questions 8-10](https://testmigo.com/ielts/listening/booking-a-community-garden-plot)

## The short answer

Plan, map and diagram labelling shows you a visual, such as a floor plan, a map of part of a town, or a diagram of a piece of equipment. You label places on it from a spoken description, choosing your answers from a list. IELTS says it tests whether you understand a description of a place and how it relates to the visual. Each label is one mark out of 40, on the same paper for Academic and General Training.

## Key facts

- **Paper:** Listening
- **Module:** Academic and General Training, same paper
- **Visual:** A plan, a map, a diagram or a set of pictures
- **Answer:** Chosen from a list on the question paper
- **Marks:** 1 per label, out of 40

Formats, timings and marking come from IELTS's own test-format pages, checked 27 September 2026.

## How it's scored

IELTS describes this type as completing labels on a visual, with the answers selected from a list. It adds that the type can depend on understanding directions and words of position.

The speaker usually walks you through the visual from a starting point. Find that point before the recording starts, because every direction after it depends on where you are standing.

> Turn the map in your head, not on the page. "On your left" means the left of someone walking the route, which is not always the left of the page.

## Plan, map and diagram labelling examples

Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test.

**Example 1 -- a floor plan**

*Floor plan in three rows with north at the top. Top row: hall, A, kitchen. Middle row: B, corridor, office. Bottom row: reception, entrance, C.*

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Hall | A | Kitchen |
| B | Corridor | Office |
| Reception | Entrance | C |

You come in through the entrance on the south side, facing north.

*Ground floor of the community center.*

Recording (played once), transcript:

> Community center, ground floor
> A: {1}
> B: {2}
> C: {3}

Prompt: Play it once and label A, B and C from the list.

- Blank 1: café / library / first aid room / lift -- café
- Blank 2: café / library / first aid room / lift -- library
- Blank 3: café / library / first aid room / lift -- first aid room

Model response: A, café; B, library; C, first aid room. The lift is never mentioned.

Why it scores: Every label was placed next to something already printed: opposite the office, between the hall and the kitchen, beside the entrance. Find the named places first and the gaps fall into place.

**Example 2 -- the speaker walks south**

*Park map in three rows with north at the top. Top row: A, north gate, visitor center. Middle row: pond, lawn, B. Bottom row: C, rose garden, greenhouse.*

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A | North gate | Visitor center |
| Pond | Lawn | B |
| C | Rose garden | Greenhouse |

The speaker comes in through the north gate, walking south.

*Town park, entered from the north gate.*

Recording (played once), transcript:

> Town park
> A: {1}
> B: {2}
> C: {3}

Prompt: Play it once. Careful: the speaker walks south, so their left is the east side of the map.

- Blank 1: picnic area / tennis courts / playground / bike rental -- picnic area
- Blank 2: picnic area / tennis courts / playground / bike rental -- tennis courts
- Blank 3: picnic area / tennis courts / playground / bike rental -- playground

Model response: A, picnic area; B, tennis courts; C, playground.

Why it scores: Walking south swaps left and right on the page. A reader who uses the page's left gets all three wrong, which is why the direction the speaker faces is the first thing to check.

**Example 3 -- the place that has moved**

*Library floor plan in three rows with north at the top. Top row: study rooms, A, stairs. Middle row: computers, lift, B. Bottom row: C, help desk, newspapers.*

| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Study rooms | A | Stairs |
| Computers | Lift | B |
| C | Help desk | Newspapers |

The speaker starts at the lift, in the middle of the floor.

*Second floor of a college library.*

Recording (played once), transcript:

> College library, second floor
> A: {1}
> B: {2}
> C: {3}

Prompt: Play it once and label A, B and C. One option is mentioned but not used.

- Blank 1: group work zone / lockers / printers / quiet reading area -- group work zone
- Blank 2: group work zone / lockers / printers / quiet reading area -- lockers
- Blank 3: group work zone / lockers / printers / quiet reading area -- printers

Model response: A, group work zone; B, lockers; C, printers. The quiet reading area has moved upstairs.

Why it scores: "Used to be" signals that a place is about to be replaced. The label is what is there now, and the old use is the distractor.

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## Common mistakes

| What costs marks | Do this instead |
| --- | --- |
| Using the page's left and right. | Use the speaker's. Work out which way they are facing before each direction. |
| Starting from the wrong place. | Find the starting point before the audio begins. Every direction after it depends on it. |
| Choosing a place that has moved or closed. | Listen past used to, was and has moved. The label is what is there now. |
| Waiting to hear a letter. | The speaker names places, not letters. Track where they are on the map, and the letters fill themselves. |

**Know what the marks are worth** Reading and Listening are 40 marks each. The band calculator turns a mark out of 40 into a band, and four skill bands into your overall. [Open the IELTS band calculator](/ielts/band-score-calculator)

## How to practice

1. Before the recording, name everything already printed on the map. Those are the landmarks the speaker will use.
2. Describe a walk through your own town out loud from a fixed start, then check each turn on a map.
3. Drill the position words: opposite, beside, beyond, just past, in the corner, at the far end. Most wrong labels come from one of them.

## Common questions

### Do I write the answer or choose it for map labelling?

You choose it. IELTS says the answers are selected from a list on the question paper, so you are matching places, not spelling them.

### Is map labelling in both Academic and General Training?

Yes. The Listening paper is the same for both modules, so every Listening type appears in both.

### What makes map questions hard?

Direction. Left and right depend on which way the speaker is facing, and the first place they describe is your anchor. Most lost marks come from losing the anchor, not from vocabulary.

**Sources**
- [IELTS: Academic Listening test format (checked 27 September 2026)](https://ielts.org/take-a-test/test-types/ielts-academic-test/ielts-academic-format-listening)

[Practice Plan, map and diagram labelling free](https://testmigo.com/ielts)