Module B1 Session 18
Principles for Drawing and Reading a Map
Learning Objectives
At the end of this session, the student should be able to
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Read and be able to navigate using a map
Understand the principles behind drawing a map and be able to draw a basic map
Appreciate the benefits of using maps in designing studies
Activity One: Finding your way around
Have a look at the document “Reading maps.doc”. Here you can see an aerial photo of the
Reading University Campus, and below, you can see a map of the same area of Reading.
Look at the map. You can see some white bars that represent main roads. Can you see
what roads they represent on the photo? You will notice on the map they have names to
identify them.
If I told you I lived in Shinfield Road, by comparing the names on the map with the photo,
could you find me on the aerial photo?
Can you find Whiteknights Lake on the photo? Return to the map and use the scale in the
bottom right hand corner of the map: can you estimate how wide it is at the widest part?
You should find that it’s not very wide at all. Lakes in England are more like ponds in
comparison to lakes in Africa, however the English feel they are big because England isn’t
that big!
The Statistics building where the Statistical Services Centre is situated is on the East side of
campus in building 56.
Look at the map to find out which direction North is in (marked N) and then you can find
out which is East, South and West just from the diagram below. By so doing, you should
be able to locate us and then find us on the photo!
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Look at the map. What are the dotted lines? The purple buildings? The red dots?
Now, you should be aware with some of the key aspects of a map. We’ve looked at the
scale, the key, the way roads and paths can be shown as well as noting which way’s north.
Grid
In the grid for this map, the columns are numbered from 1 to 9 and the rows are labelled
from A to F. So it is possible to identify any of the squares by giving each one a grid
reference. In the UK, the Ordnance Survey maps use a reference system where Easting
(the reference for the column) is quoted first and then Northing (the reference for the row)
follows. It is probably a good idea to follow this convention1. So in this map you can refer
to the grids by quoting first the number and then the letter, for example 4D, 1F, etc.
What grid reference is the Statistical services in?
The correct answer is 7D because although the building is in the limit between two squares,
the convention is to quote the one to the left.
1
It is interesting to see that the University Map uses a reference system that quotes first rows and then
columns. This is also used in other maps, so it is better to make sure one understands what system is being
used to avoid getting lost!
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Now, give a grid reference for the Earley Gate entrance.
Scale
One of the first steps with any map is to work out the scale. Scales are normally written as
1:50,000 or 1:10,000. This means that 1 cm on the map represents 10,000 cm in reality,
that is, 100 m. For a scale of this type to be useful the map needs to be printed in the
correct size. Reductions or enlargements of the map would change the scale – so be careful
when printing or photocopying a map!
Alternatively, scales can be given by printing on the map a bar that represents a distance,
this is the case in the map of the University Campus. Look at the scale on the University
map and work out:
1. How wide is each square in the grid?
2. The library is in 5D (building 2). What is the distance you would have to walk (so
follow the paths) from the Statistical Services Centre to the library?
Key
You should always look for a key alongside the map to help understand how different
features have been coded. Sometimes roads are coded different colours to explain whether
they’re motorways, major roads or dirt tracks. Make sure you have a key so that if there’s
something you don’t understand, you should find it there.
Contours
This is an important part of understanding the slope of the land. Contour lines are lines
that join points on a map that are at the same level. Our example of the University map
does have contour lines on, but a number of maps do. The following diagram
demonstrates how this can be coded in a map. Notice that the closer the lines are to each
other, the steeper the slope. Here the contour lines specify the slope every 10 m hence the
numbers 10, 20, 30 ... In other graphs, they only specify them every 100 or 200 m. The
heights shown are the heights above sea level.
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Now consider the simple map below.
The heights are in metres.
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What heights are A and B?
What about C?
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What would the best path be to go from C to D?
What is the grid reference of the tallest point of this map and how high is it?
Actually, it is necessary sometimes to give a more precise reading for the maximum height.
After all, to say the maximum height is in 19 13 is not precise enough. For, within that
square, there is also the minimum height, and everything in between. We need to be more
precise. So to be more precise, we imagine the square was split into a 10×10 grid as shown
here:
14
13
12
19
20
Now the reference would be 193 130, because the reference is nearest row position 19.3
and column position 13.0. Similarly C would be defined as 195 140. Look back at the map
on the previous page. What positions are A, B and D in?
Activity Two: Navigating maps
Where do you end up?
You have been given the following instructions to attend a meeting with a colleague who
works at the university. You have parked the car at the car park “P5”, grid reference 4C.
Stand looking at the South face of Whiteknights House. Now turn left and follow the footpath until you
reach the library. Follow the path anticlockwise around the library until you reach the road. Then follow
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the road out east, coming off the road onto the path in order to cross over Friend’s Bridge. Stick to the path
until it becomes a road, at which point continue for 50-60m before turning right. Continue briefly down the
road, staying on the right and you should soon find yourself in front of the building where your meeting will
take place. Where did you end up?
Work in pairs for the next exercise. Suppose you realise you’ve left your laptop at one of
the buildings on the West of campus and they ring for you to come to get it. Your partner
offers to get it for you. Each of you should write down instructions on how to get from
the Statistical Services Centre to a building of your choice in the West of the campus. See if
your partner would correctly arrive at that building following your instructions. Would you
arrive correctly at his building with the directions he gives?
Activity Three: Designing a map yourself
You are now familiar with the key concepts of map reading: an appropriate and labelled
scale, a key, a grid, an orientation (commonly north) and appropriate symbols. Now design
a map of either the building you are working in (choose one floor if there is more than
one), or an area in a city near where you live. It may be helpful to choose the same as
others in your group as you can then compare your maps to see how accurate it is. Don’t
forget to include a key, orientation and scale, though drawing contour lines is quite
advanced so you’d be best advised to leave them out.
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