IELTS Listening Plan, Map, and Diagram Labelling

What are Diagram Labelling questions?

IELTS Listening diagram labelling questions test whether you can place a letter on a plan while the recording describes it. The question may ask about a compass point, a corner, a route, or a place described by what is next to it. Here are the main types of information to listen for in diagram labelling questions.

Strategy:

• Compass and Relative Direction. Look at the plan before the recording starts and decide which side is north. On most plans north is the top and east is the right, unless a compass on the plan shows something else. The speaker rarely says the plain word. A point at the top may be called the upper edge, the northernmost part, or the far side of the plan, and all three mean the same place.
• Corners and Diagonals. Two directions are often given together, so one point can be described as both north and east at the same time. Hold both parts in mind, because one part on its own can fit more than one point on the plan. A speaker may also place something by what it sits across from. Diagonally opposite means you cut across the plan to the other side, not along one edge.
• Movement and Navigation. Some recordings walk you along a route instead of naming a side of the plan. Put your finger on the place the speaker starts from and move it as the speaker moves, because each new instruction is given from the point you have reached. Listen for what happens to the route: whether it goes straight on, turns, passes something, crosses something, or splits. A place is often named just after one of those changes.
• Relative Position. A place can be described by the thing next to it rather than by a direction. The speaker names a feature you can already see on the plan, then says where the new place sits in relation to it. Words such as opposite, behind, in front of, and surrounded by each point to a different side of that feature, so find the named feature first and then check the whole description against the lettered point.

Strategy reminder: Compass and Relative Direction. Look at the plan before the recording starts and decide which side is north. On most plans north is the top and east is the right, unless a compass on the plan shows something else. The speaker rarely says the plain word. A point at the top may be called the upper edge, the northernmost part, or the far side of the plan, and all three mean the same place.

We'll look at a sample IELTS listening practice.

Sample Question:

Let’s solve it using the strategy.

• Use the strategy. Compass and Relative Direction. Look at the plan before the recording starts and decide which side is north. On most plans north is the top and east is the right, unless a compass on the plan shows something else. The speaker rarely says the plain word. A point at the top may be called the upper edge, the northernmost part, or the far side of the plan, and all three mean the same place.

1. library (A): is situated at the northernmost point places the library at the top of the plan.

2. indoor sports hall (B): is over on the right-hand side and eastern wing place the hall on the east.

3. service area (C): is lying at the base and southern boundary place the delivery bay at the bottom.

4. student accommodation (D): are tucked away in the left-hand corner and western edge place the blocks on the west.

Map tip: On most IELTS plans, north = top and east = right unless the map shows a compass rose.

Correct answer: