A map answer earns explanation marks when each pattern you describe is followed by a reason linked to evidence. Use the shape: pattern, evidence, because, effect.
The map and figures below are invented for teaching. They are not a real place.
What does the mistake look like?
The question says: “Explain the distribution of houses shown on the map.” The student writes: “Most houses are near the river. There are fewer houses on the higher land. There is a road in the north.”
Every sentence is true and the answer still reads as a list. There is no word such as because, so or which means that. The reader has to guess the reasoning.
What causes it?
Describing feels safe, since the evidence is on the page. Explaining asks you to bring in an idea that is not printed on the map. Some students also do not notice that the command word changed from “describe” to “explain”.
A third cause is treating the map as a picture instead of a dataset. Every feature is evidence for something.
Worked example
Invented map of Village V. A river runs west to east. A track runs north to south and crosses the river at one bridge. Land is flat within 400 m of the river and steep beyond that.
Invented count of houses by distance from the river:
| Distance from river | Number of houses |
|---|---|
| 0 to 200 m | 34 |
| 200 to 400 m | 18 |
| 400 to 600 m | 6 |
| 600 to 800 m | 2 |
Total: 34 + 18 + 6 + 2 = 60 houses.
Step 1, describe with numbers. The nearest band has 34 of 60 houses, which is 34 ÷ 60 = 0.567, about 57%. The count falls in every band moving away from the river.
Step 2, find the evidence for a reason. The same map shows flat land near the river, steep land further away and a bridge on the track.
Step 3, link each piece with a connecting word.
- Flat land is easier to build on, so houses cluster within 400 m.
- The river gives a water supply which makes living close to it practical.
- The bridge is on the track, so the crossing point is accessible, which may explain why houses gather near it.
Step 4, write the answer.
“About 57% of the houses are within 200 m of the river, and the number falls as distance increases. This is because the land within 400 m is flat, which makes building easier, and the river provides water. Steeper land beyond 400 m is harder and more costly to build on, so fewer houses are found there.”
The answer states the pattern once, then spends most of its words on reasons.
A routine for any map question
- Circle the command word: describe, explain or suggest.
- Write the pattern in one sentence with a number or place name.
- Find two pieces of evidence that could cause it.
- Join each with because, so or which means.
- Check that every reason points back to the pattern.
Cause-and-effect arrows work well when each one has a clear meaning. The food-web and energy-flow explorer is a model for that habit, since an arrow must state what it passes on. The statistics and distribution explorer helps you summarise counts like the ones above.
Check yourself
Use the Village V data above.
1. What percentage of the houses are more than 400 m from the river?
Show answer
Houses beyond 400 m: 6 + 2 = 8. 8 ÷ 60 = 0.133, so about 13%. Check: 34 + 18 = 52 houses are within 400 m, and 52 ÷ 60 is about 87%, which adds to 100%.
2. Turn this into an explanation: “There are few houses on the steep land.”
Show answer
“There are few houses on the steep land because it is harder and more expensive to build on, so settlement has spread mainly on the flat ground near the river.”
3. Write one limitation of explaining from this map alone.
Show answer
The map shows where houses are but not why people chose them. Other reasons, such as land ownership or flood risk, may also matter, so the explanation should say “likely” or “may”.
Where to go next
Practise reading spatial evidence in graphs, photographs and spatial data and building reasons in extended geographic explanations. If scale slips in map work, the clinic on area scale and distance scale is a good companion. The Geography learning guide shows how these skills connect to the topics.
If your explanations still stop at description, a teacher can work with your own answers. See online one-to-one Geography tuition.