Gather 8 paper and 1 compass
Open a crafting table
Place the compass in the center
Place the 8 paper in the surrounding slots
Take the empty map from the result slot
Equip the map in your hand
Right-click or use the map to create the filled map
Open the map to view your explored area
Craft more paper and use it to expand the map in a cartography table
Combine maps carefully to keep track of different areas