Write your own answer first20 minutes and at least 150 words, like the real test. Use the editor below, then compare with the Band 8 model answer.
Process diagrams have no numbers at all. Instead they show the stages of how something is made or how something works. That means different skills: the passive voice (the bottles are sorted), sequencing words (first, next, after which) and an overview that summarises the whole process in one or two sentences. Here is the structure, a practice question, a Band 8 model answer and the key language.
How Task 1 is marked#
You have 20 minutes and must write at least 150 words. Task 1 is worth one third of your Writing score, and is marked on four criteria: Task Achievement (an accurate overview and key features), Coherence and Cohesion (logical grouping and linking), Lexical Resource (precise vocabulary) and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.
The 4-paragraph structure for a process diagram#
| Paragraph | What to write | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Introduction | Paraphrase the question in one sentence: what, where, when. | 1 sentence |
| 2. Overview | The 2–3 most important features, with no numbers. | 2 sentences |
| 3. Body 1 | The first group of details, with figures and comparisons. | 3–4 sentences |
| 4. Body 2 | The second group of details. | 3–4 sentences |
How to describe a process diagram#
- Count the stages and find the start and end point. Your overview says how many stages there are, where it begins and ends, and whether it is a cycle (it goes back to the start) or a linear process.
- Split the stages into two body paragraphs, roughly half and half, or at a natural break (e.g. preparation vs production).
- Use the passive for man-made processes (is collected, are melted) and the active for natural cycles (water evaporates).
- Include every stage. Unlike charts, you can’t select only some stages; leaving one out loses Task Achievement marks.
Practice question#
The diagram below shows how glass bottles are recycled.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features.
Write at least 150 words.
- 1CollectionUsed bottles are collected from recycling bins.
- 2TransportLorries take them to a recycling plant.
- 3SortingBottles are sorted by colour: clear, green and brown.
- 4CleaningThey are washed to remove labels and dirt.
- 5CrushingThe glass is crushed into small pieces called cullet.
- 6MeltingThe cullet is melted in a furnace at 1,500°C.
- 7MouldingThe liquid glass is shaped into new bottles.
- 8DeliveryNew bottles are filled and delivered to shops.
- ↻ After use, the bottles return to recycling bins and the cycle begins again.
This diagram was created for practice, in the style of real IELTS Task 1 questions.
Essay practice editor
Model answer (Band 8 style)
Write your own answer first, then compare structure and vocabulary. Task 1 (Academic): process diagram · 158 words.
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The diagram illustrates the process by which used glass bottles are recycled to make new ones.
Overall, there are eight main stages, beginning with the collection of used bottles and ending with the delivery of new bottles to shops. The process is cyclical, since the new bottles eventually return to recycling bins.
First, used bottles are collected from recycling bins and transported by lorry to a recycling plant. There, they are sorted according to their colour into clear, green and brown glass, after which they are washed to remove any labels and dirt.
Next, the clean glass is crushed into small pieces, known as cullet. This cullet is then melted in a furnace at a temperature of 1,500°C, and the liquid glass is shaped into new bottles in moulds. Finally, the new bottles are filled and delivered to shops. Once consumers have used them, the bottles go back into recycling bins, and the whole cycle starts again.
Overview of the whole process
Number of stages, start, end, and the fact that it is a cycle, all in two sentences.
Passive voice throughout
*are collected*, *are sorted*, *is crushed*, *is melted*, the natural choice for an industrial process.
Varied sequencing
*First*, *There*, *after which*, *Next*, *then*, *Finally*, *Once…*: never “and then… and then…”.
Every stage covered
All eight stages appear, split into two balanced paragraphs.
Want your own writing scored? With Worddemy Pro, paste it into the app and get a band score with feedback on all four criteria.
Useful language for process diagrams#
| Purpose | Words and phrases |
|---|---|
| Sequencers | First / Firstly · Next · Then · After that · Subsequently · Following this · Finally |
| Linking within a sentence | after which · before being · once · as soon as · at which point |
| Passive forms | is/are + past participle: is collected · are sorted · is heated · are transported |
| Describing stages | the process begins with · in the second stage · at the final stage · the process ends with |
| Cycles | the cycle begins again · the process is repeated · this is a continuous process |
Common mistakes#
- Writing in the active voice with “they” or “people” (“People collect the bottles”). Use the passive.
- Missing the overview. Even without numbers, you need a summary of the whole process.
- Copying the labels word for word as a list. Turn them into full sentences and add linking words.
- Wrong passive forms: “the glass is melt” → is melted; “bottles are send” → are sent.
More Task 1 guides#
Each guide has a practice question, a 20-minute editor and a Band 8 model answer:
New to Task 1? Start with the complete IELTS Writing Task 1 guide, and learn how to describe trends and choose the right tense.