Read the shape before you arrive, then use the terrain to test your expectation.
A control approach often feels easy when the terrain appears in the order you expected: the spur opens out, the ground drops into a re-entrant and the control feature sits where it should. You are recognising a scene you have already prepared.
That is the purpose of an anticipated mental image. It gives your map reading a direction. The risk is becoming so attached to the picture that you force the terrain to fit it.
Build the shape before adding the detail
In complex contour terrain, begin with the larger structure. Which way does the ground rise? Where are the spurs and re-entrants? Is the control on a local high point, on the side of a larger hill or inside a depression?
The original example below illustrates why the position of a local top can be difficult to understand. A small shape must be read in relation to the surrounding slopes. Recognising an isolated contour symbol is not always enough to understand the area.
Make the picture useful for the approach
Think about what the terrain will look like from your chosen direction. The same knoll can appear prominent from one side and merge into a slope from another. Visibility and vegetation also affect what you can expect to see.
Select a reliable final reference and decide what should happen between that point and the control. Combine the expected shape with precise direction. An image alone does not protect you from leaving the reference on the wrong line.
Read the larger shape and the control’s position within it.
Use a reliable reference, clear direction and appropriate speed.
Match the expected sequence to the terrain. Resolve contradictions early.
Keep the prediction open to correction
An anticipated image is a working expectation. If the slope falls the wrong way or the expected re-entrant never appears, that is useful evidence. Slow down enough to resolve it rather than searching only for a flag.
At the same time, do not reject a sound plan because every minor surface detail differs. Maps simplify terrain. Specific practice helps you learn which mapped features are reliable guides in that terrain and how the mapper represents them.
The review should identify whether the difficulty came from interpreting the map, choosing the approach or executing it. Each calls for a different next exercise. The useful outcome is a clearer relationship between the map and the ground, not a more elaborate picture to memorise.