Writing Task 1: Process Diagram: IELTS Academic 9990 (IELTS Academic)

The diagram below shows the process by which bread is made in a commercial bakery, from the mixing of raw ingredients to the packaging of the finished loaves. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, running through six stages from ingredient mixing to packaging, with no stage repeated.

Stage 1: Flour, water, yeast and salt are weighed out and combined in a large industrial mixer to form a dough. Stage 2: The dough is transferred to a fermentation chamber, where it is left to rise for a set period as the yeast ferments. Stage 3: The risen dough is divided into equal portions and shaped into loaves by a dividing and moulding machine. Stage 4: The shaped dough pieces are placed into baking tins and proved for a second time in a humidity-controlled prover until they have doubled in size. Stage 5: The proved dough is baked in a tunnel oven at a high temperature for a fixed duration, after which the loaves are removed and cooled on a conveyor belt. Stage 6: The cooled loaves are sliced by an automatic slicing machine and wrapped in sealed packaging, ready for distribution to shops.

The diagram below shows how chocolate is produced from cocoa pods. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, running through seven stages from the harvesting of cocoa pods to the moulding of finished chocolate bars, with no stage repeated.

Stage 1: Ripe cocoa pods are harvested by hand from cocoa trees with a machete, and each pod is split open to remove the beans and surrounding pulp. Stage 2: The beans, still coated in pulp, are placed into wooden boxes and left to ferment for five to seven days. Stage 3: The fermented beans are spread out on trays or mats and dried in the sun for around a week. Stage 4: The dried beans are transported to a processing factory, where they are cleaned and then roasted at a controlled temperature. Stage 5: The roasted beans are cracked open and winnowed, separating the outer shells from the inner nibs. Stage 6: The nibs are ground into a thick paste called chocolate liquor, which is then mixed with sugar, milk powder and additional cocoa butter. Stage 7: The mixture is conched, tempered through controlled heating and cooling, and finally poured into moulds, where it sets into solid chocolate bars.

The diagram below shows the process of how paper is recycled. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, running through six stages from the collection of used paper to the production of new reels, with no stage repeated.

Stage 1: Used paper is collected from homes, offices, schools and public recycling bins and is transported by truck to a recycling plant. Stage 2: At the plant, the paper is sorted by type and quality, and non-paper contaminants such as plastic wrapping and metal clips are removed. Stage 3: The sorted paper is loaded into a large tank called a pulper, where it is mixed with water and chemicals and broken down into a soft pulp. Stage 4: The pulp is passed through screens and cleaning equipment, and a de-inking process removes remaining ink particles and other small impurities. Stage 5: The cleaned pulp is sprayed thinly onto a moving mesh conveyor belt, where most of the water drains away and the remainder is squeezed out by a series of rollers. Stage 6: The resulting damp sheet is dried by passing it over heated rollers and is then wound onto large reels of new, ready-to-use recycled paper.

The diagram below shows how instant coffee is produced. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, running through six stages from the picking of coffee cherries to the packaging of the finished product, with no stage repeated.

Stage 1: Ripe coffee cherries are picked from coffee plants, and the outer fruit is removed to expose the green coffee beans inside. Stage 2: The green beans are dried and then roasted at a high temperature until they turn dark brown and develop their characteristic aroma. Stage 3: The roasted beans are ground into small, uniform particles. Stage 4: The ground coffee is mixed with hot water in large extraction tanks, producing a concentrated coffee liquid, while the used grounds are discarded. Stage 5: The concentrated liquid is sprayed into the top of a tall tower filled with hot air, and the intense heat instantly evaporates the water, leaving behind fine, dry granules of coffee. Stage 6: The dried granules are cooled and then packaged into jars or individual sachets, ready for sale to consumers.

The diagram below shows the life cycle of a salmon. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features. Write at least 150 words.

The process is cyclical rather than linear: it consists of five stages, and the final stage leads directly back to the first, so the cycle repeats indefinitely.

Stage 1: Adult salmon swim from the ocean upstream into a freshwater river to spawn, and the females lay their eggs in shallow gravel nests known as redds. Stage 2: The fertilised eggs hatch into tiny larvae called alevins, which remain hidden in the gravel and feed on the yolk sac still attached to their bodies. Stage 3: Once the yolk sac has been fully absorbed, the alevins emerge from the gravel as young fry and begin feeding independently on small aquatic insects. Stage 4: As the fry mature into juvenile salmon, known first as parr and then as smolts, they migrate downstream towards the sea, undergoing physical changes that allow them to survive in salt water. Stage 5: The smolts enter the ocean, where they spend one to several years feeding and growing into adults, before returning to the same river in which they hatched in order to spawn, at which point the cycle begins again.

The diagram below shows the stages involved in the manufacture of bricks used in the construction industry, from the extraction of raw clay to the finished bricks ready for delivery. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, beginning with raw clay extraction and ending with finished bricks in storage, and consists of six sequential stages:

1. Clay is dug out of the ground at a quarry using heavy excavating machinery.
2. The clay is crushed and mixed with water in a pug mill until it forms a smooth, workable paste.
3. The paste is fed into moulds, or extruded through a die, and cut into brick-sized blocks.
4. The shaped bricks are placed in a drying chamber for one to two days to remove excess moisture.
5. The dried bricks are stacked inside a kiln and fired at a temperature of approximately 1000°C for several hours.
6. The fired bricks are left to cool before being packaged onto pallets and stored ready for delivery to building sites.

The diagram below shows the stages involved in producing olive oil, from the harvesting of olives on the tree to the bottling of the finished oil. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, beginning with the harvesting of olives and ending with the bottling and storage of the oil, and consists of six sequential stages:

1. Ripe olives are harvested from olive trees, either by hand or using mechanical shakers, typically in the autumn months.
2. The harvested olives are transported to the mill and washed to remove leaves, twigs and soil.
3. The washed olives are crushed, together with their stones, into a thick paste using a stone or hammer mill.
4. The paste is slowly stirred, or malaxed, for around thirty to forty-five minutes so that small droplets of oil combine into larger ones.
5. The malaxed paste is pressed, or spun in a centrifuge, to separate the oil from the solid residue, known as pomace, and any remaining water.
6. The extracted oil is filtered to remove impurities before being either bottled immediately or stored in stainless-steel tanks until it is ready for bottling.

The diagram below shows how raw water is treated at a water treatment plant before it reaches homes and businesses. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, beginning with the intake of raw water and ending with distribution to consumers, and consists of seven sequential stages:

1. Raw water is drawn from a river or reservoir and passed through a screen, which removes large debris such as leaves and branches.
2. Coagulant chemicals, such as aluminium sulphate, are added to the water, causing small suspended particles to clump together into larger masses known as floc.
3. The water flows into a sedimentation tank, where the floc settles to the bottom as sludge, leaving clearer water above it.
4. The clarified water is passed through layers of sand and gravel filters, which trap any remaining fine particles.
5. The filtered water is disinfected with chlorine to eliminate any bacteria and other pathogens that are still present.
6. The disinfected water is pumped into a covered clean-water reservoir for storage.
7. The stored water is pumped from the reservoir through underground pipes to reach homes and businesses.

The diagram below shows how used glass is recycled into new glass containers. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words.

The process is linear, beginning with the collection of used glass and ending with the dispatch of new glass containers, and consists of six sequential stages:

1. Used glass items, such as bottles and jars, are collected from households through kerbside collection schemes or public bottle banks.
2. The collected glass is transported to a recycling facility, where it is sorted by colour into clear, green and brown batches, and any contaminants, such as metal lids, are removed.
3. The sorted glass is crushed into small fragments known as cullet.
4. The cullet is mixed with raw materials, including sand, soda ash and limestone, and fed into a furnace.
5. The mixture is melted at a temperature of approximately 1500°C to produce molten glass.
6. The molten glass is moulded or blown into new containers, which are cooled and then dispatched to manufacturers and shops.

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

The process is cyclical, returning to its starting point once the final stage is complete, and consists of four sequential stages:

1. Egg: the queen bee lays a single egg inside a cell of the honeycomb.
2. Larva: after around three days, the egg hatches into a larva, which is fed intensively by worker bees and grows rapidly, moulting its skin several times as it increases in size.
3. Pupa: once the larva has reached its full size, worker bees seal the cell with a wax capping; inside the sealed cell, the larva spins a cocoon and enters the pupal stage, during which its body is gradually transformed into the form of an adult bee.
4. Adult: roughly two weeks after the cell was capped, the fully developed adult chews its way out of the cell and emerges into the hive; depending on how it was reared, it becomes either a worker, a drone, or, occasionally, a new queen, and if it is a queen, she will eventually mate and begin laying eggs of her own, returning the cycle to its starting stage.