IELTS Writing Task 1 Process Diagram
A process has no numbers and no trends, so the language changes completely: sequence words (first, next, once, finally) and the passive voice (the bottles are collected, the glass is melted).
Your overview should say how many stages there are and where the process starts and ends. Then describe every stage in order. Unlike charts, you can't skip parts of a process.
The diagram below shows how used glass bottles are recycled to make new bottles. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features. Write at least 150 words.
- 1Used bottles collected from recycling banks
- 2Transported to a processing plant
- 3Sorted by colour (clear, green, brown)
- 4Washed to remove labels and dirt
- 5Crushed into small pieces (cullet)
- 6Melted with sand and limestone at 1,500°C
- 7Moulded into new bottles
- 8Cooled, then filled and sent to shops
Data invented for practice.
How to structure it
- 1
Introduction
What the diagram shows.
- 2
Overview
The number of stages and the start and end points: eight stages, from collection to new bottles back in shops.
- 3
Body 1
The first half: collection to crushing.
- 4
Body 2
The second half: melting to distribution.
The diagram illustrates the process by which used glass bottles are recycled and turned into new ones.
Overall, there are eight stages, beginning with the collection of used bottles and ending with new bottles being delivered to shops. The process is cyclical, since the new bottles can themselves be recycled once they have been used.
First, used bottles are collected from recycling banks and transported to a processing plant. There, they are sorted according to their colour into clear, green and brown glass. The sorted bottles are then washed to remove any labels and dirt, after which they are crushed into small fragments known as cullet.
In the next stage, the cullet is melted at a temperature of 1,500°C, together with sand and limestone. The molten glass is then poured into moulds to form new bottles, which are left to cool. Finally, the bottles are filled and distributed to shops, where they are bought, used and eventually returned to recycling banks, so that the cycle can begin again.
Why it scores Band 8: Accurate passive forms, a wide range of sequencers (first, there, then, after which, in the next stage, finally) and an overview that captures the cycle. 168 words.
Band is our estimate against the public IELTS Writing band descriptors.
Language that does the work
- First / Next / After that / Finally
- Basic sequencers. Vary them.
- once / after which / at this stage
- More advanced ways to connect steps.
- is collected / are transported
- Passive voice: the process matters, not who does it.
- the process is cyclical
- When the end leads back to the start.
- known as
- To introduce a technical term from the diagram.
- in total, there are X stages
- A simple, useful overview sentence.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Using active voice with "people" or "workers" as the subject in every sentence.
- Skipping stages. Every stage on the diagram should appear.
- No overview. Say how many stages and where it starts and ends.
Practise it: 12 Cambridge tests with a Task 1 like this
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