IELTS Task 1: Process diagrams
A process diagram shows how something is made, or how a natural cycle works. It has no numbers and no trends, so the trend vocabulary that carries every other Task 1 is useless here and two different things take over: the passive voice and sequence.
Manufactured or natural decides the voice
| Kind of process | Voice | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Manufactured — someone does it | Passive | The clay is extracted and then left to dry. |
| Natural — it happens by itself | Active | The water evaporates and rises into the atmosphere. |
Getting this wrong is conspicuous. "Someone extracts the clay" in a report about brick manufacture is grammatically fine and wrong in register, because who does it is not the point and the passive is what removes them.
The overview without numbers
Say how many stages there are, where the process begins and ends, and whether it is linear or a cycle. That is a complete overview for a process and takes two sentences.
- Sequence — first, next, subsequently, following this, at this point, finally.
- Simultaneity — meanwhile, at the same time, while this is happening.
- Purpose — in order to, so that, which allows the material to.
- Cycle — the cycle then begins again, returning the water to the ocean.
Present simple throughout. A process is a general truth, not an event that happened, so past tense is an error here even when the diagram illustrates something historical.
Process diagrams — FAQs
2 questions
Usually introduction, overview, and two body paragraphs split at a natural break in the process.
Use the labels on the diagram — they are given to you and using them accurately is what is rewarded.
More writing question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.