IELTS Task 1 processes and maps: organise the main features

Processes: establish the beginning and end

Check whether the diagram is a cycle or a sequence with endpoints, how many stages it shows and what happens to the input. Use these features in the overview instead of inventing a numerical trend.

Group stages by function, such as preparation, treatment and packaging. Follow arrows and labels to preserve the sequence. Do not insert filtering or heating just because a real-world process sometimes includes it.

Choose voice to suit the action

The passive can be useful when a diagram focuses on materials being handled. The active is often clearer when an organism or object acts or develops. There is no requirement to make every process sentence passive.

This original example connects two stages in an invented process. Your verbs must match the actual labels; do not treat the example as a claim about real manufacturing.

After the containers are washed, they are inspected for damage. Suitable containers are then moved to the filling station.

Maps: group changes by area

Identify orientation when supplied, dates, unchanged features and developments. An overview can describe the overall change in function and the largest transformation without listing every building.

Organise detail by area or by additions, replacements and retained features. Select tense according to whether the map shows the past, present or a future proposal. Do not describe a proposed construction as already completed.

Verify every description against the diagram

Match each sentence to a specific part of the image. Remove explanations of benefits, causes or convenience that the task does not supply. Check place names and spatial prepositions before replacing words with synonyms.

• Use an overview suited to a process or map.
• Preserve stage order and location.
• Choose suitable tense and voice.
• Do not invent causes or extra stages.