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IELTS Writing Task 1 process diagram: sequence writing drill

Describe an IELTS process diagram in the present simple, mostly passive ("the glass is crushed"), start with an overview giving the number of stages and the first and last, then take the stages in order with sequencers such as "first", "once" and "finally".

How used glass becomes new bottles (original diagram)
  1. Used bottles collected from recycling banks
  2. Sorted by colour: clear, green, brown
  3. Washed and crushed into small pieces (cullet)
  4. Cullet mixed with sand, soda ash and limestone
  5. Mixture melted in a furnace at about 1,500°C
  6. Molten glass poured into moulds and shaped
  7. New bottles cooled slowly and inspected
  8. Bottles filled and delivered to shops

Which sentence is the best overview?

Question 1 of 6

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Questions people ask

How do you describe a process diagram in IELTS Writing Task 1?

Paraphrase the task, write an overview (how many stages, where it starts and ends), then describe the stages in order in one or two body paragraphs, using the present simple passive and sequence words.

Should I use the passive voice?

Mostly, yes. In a man-made process the person doing each step is unknown or unimportant, so "the bottles are sorted" is more natural than "someone sorts the bottles".

Do I need an overview for a process?

Yes. The overview is part of the Task Achievement criterion: say how many stages there are and how the process begins and ends.

How we work this out

What it does

Write the overview, order the stages, and choose the sequence words and passive verbs a process answer needs.

IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, process diagrams. The diagram and sentences are original.

Method

  1. Each key is the sentence that is accurate to the diagram and uses the language a process description needs.
  2. Wrong choices show the usual problems: no overview, details out of order, active verbs where the doer is unknown, or the past tense.

Sources

Checked .