ACADEMIC WRITING TASK (Diagrams)
How to Analyse a Process
It’s very important to study and practice all the different Task 1 types so you can be fully prepared for your exam,
including an IELTS Writing Task 1 Process.
A lot of IELTS students (and teachers & books) focus too much on charts and tables, and not enough on other types such
as maps and processes.
Recently, process diagrams have been appearing more and more in the IELTS Writing exam. In this post we look at how
to analyse a process carefully including the kind of process, how many steps and main stages, and knowing what is
happening at each step.
The Kind of Process
The process diagram below is based on a real IELTS exam from Jan 2018, and shows how orange juice is made.
As you can see I’ve written on the top of the diagram (in red), to help me remember two important points:
It’s a man-made process, which means it is carried out by people, compared to a natural process (e.g.
the salmon life cycle below).
It’s a linear process. This means it starts and finishes in different places. It doesn’t repeat itself. In a cyclical
process (salmon life cycle below), at the end of the process it goes back to the beginning – it repeats.
Steps and Stages
After confirming the kind of process, you should identify (find) how many steps there are, and categorise them logically
into main stages.
Count and Order the Steps Logically
The first task is easy – just follow the process logically (following the arrows) and number them as you go (see my
example below). From this it’s clear to see that there are a total of 17 steps.
Remember to number the steps logically so that it follows the process (following the arrows), which helps you to see the
process and its main stages. Compare my numbering above with the one below.
The 2nd example also shows 17 steps but I numbered them left to right, which is not as helpful for analysing the
diagram.
Divide the Steps into Stages
Similar to other Task 1 question types, if you want a band 7 or above for Task Achievement you need a clear overview
that summarises the whole diagram. For a process diagram, this means the examiner wants you to divide the process
into main stages. This is tricky (difficult) as there is often more than one possible way. Choose whichever way you think is
logical, and draw lines on the diagram to help you analyse and remember the stages.
In the first example (see below), I have divided the process into three main stages. This is logical because it matches the
three main industrial processes in three different factory locations:
Purple: (Extraction) – producing & delivering fresh juice to supermarkets (and its by-product to farms).
Blue: (Evaporation) – creating concentrated juice for storage.
Pink: (Rehydration) – producing reconstituted orange juice for supermarkets.
Alternatively, you could break the process down into four main stages (see below). Again I have used lines to help me
analyse and remember:
Purple: (Extraction) – processing fresh juice and its by-product
Green: (Delivery) – the fresh juice is taken to supermarkets, and the solid waste to farms
Blue: (Evaporation) – creating concentrated juice for storage.
Pink: (Rehydration) – producing reconstituted orange juice for supermarkets.
Analyse Every Step – What, Where, How, Why
You need to analyse every step of the process and identify what kind of step it is, and therefore what is happening to the
oranges at each step. For example:
Does it show an activity? (e.g. packaging) or a product? (e.g. fresh juice)
Is it a main industrial activity? (e.g. evaporation, extraction, rehydration)
Is it preparation for a main industrial activity? (e.g. washing)
Does it involve a break in the process? (e.g. storage)
Does it involve transportation? (being taken from one factory to another, or to a warehouse or shop)
Does it involve packaging? (e.g. canning)
Is something being added or removed? (e.g. water in evaporation / rehydration)
Does it involve a by-product of the main process? (e.g. producing animal feed from solid waste)
Is it labelled? (e.g. rehydration doesn’t have the word. It just says factory + water)
Topic: The diagram below shows how avocado oil is extracted.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. You
should write at least 150 words.
The diagram illustrates the production of avocado oil. Overall, this is an 8-stage process whose centrifugation stage and
oil refining are the most important. The input material of this process is avocado; the output product is avocado oil and
its by-product is a mix of natural fertilizer.
In the first stage, avocados are classified manually by workers to remove the rotten ones before being washed in a tank
full of water. Washed avocados are then passed to a crusher to separate the avocado flesh from seeds, skins. Avocado
flesh is then cut into fine pieces in an industrial blender to become the input material for the next stage. The next stage
is a 2-step centrifugation process in which avocado flesh is spun at an ultra-high speed to separate liquids from solids in
the first step and oil from water in the second one. The whole stage takes place at a maximum of 45-50 Celsius degrees.
The rotten avocados, seeds and skins, and solid waste of the centrifugation process are a by-product of this process,
working as a mixed natural fertilizer for the orchard.
The oil refining process consists of the three last stages with the input material being avocado oil from the previous
centrifugation process. Oil is filtered to generate clarified oil stored in a tank set up below. This volume of clarified oil is
then extracted using a dispenser, generating the resulting product of avocado oil.
Topic: The diagram below shows the manufacturing process for making sugar from sugar cane.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
The provided diagram illustrates how a common commodity, sugar, is produced by processing sugar cane, a popular
tropical plant. The process comprises two stages with seven steps, from cultivating the plants to finished goods.
The initial step starts with growing sugar canes, a process which takes approximately one year to one year and a half.
Subsequently, the plants are harvested, either manually or mechanically by harvesters. The next step involves crushing
sugar canes in a machine to yield juice. This also marks the end of the first stage, which produces the raw material for
sugar production.
The subsequent stage involves refining sugar cane juice through various steps commencing with purifying it in a V-
shaped device equipped with a limestone filter. Then the filtered liquid is poured into a large pot called evaporator where
the heating process takes place turning/transforming the juice into a thicker form of syrup. The next step is processing
the syrup in a centrifuge, a circular-shaped device which separates sugar crystals from the liquid. Finally, the crystallized
sugar grains rest in a metal container for de-moisturizing and de-heating completing the whole sugar manufacturing
process.
Analysis
1. The process shows how sugar is made from the sugar cane plant. 2. Looking from an overall perspective, it is readily
apparent that this natural and man-made process involves 3 main stages beginning with initial harvesting, followed by a
chemical transformation, and finally separation into the end product of sugar.
1. Paraphrase what the process shows.
2. Write a clear overview summarising the major groups. 1. The first stage is natural and begins with sugar cane
being grown over a 12 – 18 month period. 2. The mature plant is then harvested either by hand or large, industrial
farming machinery. 3. From that point, the stalks are crushed in a grinder which results in raw sugar cane juice.
1. Begin writing about the details of the process.
2. This one is tricky to get up to the word count (no longer required on IELTS) so try to make it a little
wordy.
3. Make sure all steps are detailed in the process.
1. The juice is then run through a limestone filter and poured into an evaporator during which time it is heated, reduced
and becomes syrup. 2. The syrup is next separated from the sugar crystals using a centrifuge prior to being dried and
cooled in its final form as sugar.
1. Write about the rest of the process – include everything!
2. Try to paraphrase some of the words from process as well.
