IELTS Writing Task 1: Process diagram

How to recognise it

Stages of how something is made or how something works (natural or manufactured).

The overview

Say how many stages there are, where the process starts and ends, and whether it is linear or a cycle. No numbers needed.

Plan (20 minutes)

Think before you write

1. What does the visual show, in what units, and over what time or in what places?
2. Find the 2-3 key features (biggest, smallest, main trend, biggest change, exception).
3. Write the overview sentence first in your head; it decides how you group the body paragraphs.
4. Choose only the figures that support those features. Don't describe everything.

Useful language

Mistakes that cost bands

• Skipping stages.
• No overview of the whole process.
• Using active voice for a manufacturing process (the passive is more natural there).

The diagram shows how tea is produced, from picking to packaging.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Leaves picked by hand
2. Leaves withered on racks for 12-18 hours
3. Leaves rolled by machine
4. Fermented (oxidised) for 1-3 hours
5. Dried in hot air
6. Sorted by size
7. Packed and transported

The diagram shows the life cycle of a frog.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Eggs laid in water
2. Tadpoles hatch after about 10 days
3. Tadpoles grow back legs
4. Front legs develop and tail shrinks
5. Young frog leaves water
6. Adult frog returns to water to lay eggs

The diagram shows how glass bottles are recycled.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Bottles collected from recycling bins
2. Taken to a recycling plant
3. Sorted by colour
4. Washed and crushed
5. Melted at 1,500°C
6. Moulded into new bottles
7. Filled and sent to shops

The diagram shows how electricity is generated in a hydroelectric power station.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. River water stored behind a dam
2. Water released through pipes
3. Water turns turbines
4. Turbines drive generators
5. Electricity sent to a transformer
6. Power carried by cables to homes
7. Water returns to the river

The diagram shows the process of making chocolate from cocoa beans.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Cocoa pods harvested
2. Beans removed and fermented for a week
3. Beans dried in the sun
4. Beans roasted
5. Shells removed; beans ground into paste
6. Paste mixed with sugar and milk
7. Mixture poured into moulds and cooled

The diagram shows how rainwater is collected and used in a home.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Rain falls on the roof
2. Water flows into gutters
3. Passes through a filter
4. Stored in an underground tank
5. Pumped to the house
6. Used for toilets and washing machines
7. Overflow drains to the garden

The diagram shows the water cycle.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Sun heats water in seas and lakes
2. Water evaporates into the air
3. Vapour cools and condenses into clouds
4. Rain or snow falls
5. Water runs off into rivers or soaks into the ground
6. Rivers carry water back to the sea

The diagram shows how bread is made in a bakery.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Flour, water, yeast and salt measured
2. Mixed into dough
3. Dough left to rise for 1 hour
4. Shaped into loaves
5. Left to rise again for 30 minutes
6. Baked at 220°C for 30 minutes
7. Cooled and sliced

The diagram shows how a new medicine is developed.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Research in a laboratory
2. Tests on cells
3. Small trial with healthy volunteers
4. Larger trial with patients
5. Safety review by a government agency
6. Approval and production
7. Monitoring after sale

The diagram shows the stages of producing paper from wood.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

1. Trees cut down
2. Logs transported to a mill
3. Bark removed; wood cut into chips
4. Chips cooked with chemicals to make pulp
5. Pulp bleached
6. Pulp spread and pressed into sheets
7. Sheets dried and rolled