What kind of place are you looking for? An ocean, a country, a city, a lake? First, make sure you know what it is. Look it up first in a dictionary if you don't. That will tell you, in words, where it is. For example, to find the Aral Sea, look it up in the dictionary. That will tell you it is in Asia. Then find a map of Asia. A gazetteer often accompanies the map (like an index to the map) which will further guide you.
