Academic Task 1: process diagrams and maps · IELTS · Courselo

Lesson 4 of 7 · Writing Task 1: Academic reports and General Training letters

Academic Task 1: process diagrams and maps

7 min read · about 55 min with practice3 quick checks≈1% of the testStretch

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Process diagrams and maps are the Academic Task 1 visuals with no numbers to compare. Instead, you turn labels and pictures into accurate, well-sequenced sentences. Candidates who have practised only charts often freeze here, yet the method is highly predictable, so these tasks are a reliable source of Band 7+ marks for anyone who has rehearsed it.

By the end you’ll be able to

Describe a process with sequencing language and the passive voice
Give an overview of the number of stages and the start and end points
Describe changes to a place with location language and past or perfect tenses
Paraphrase diagram labels rather than copying them

What the exam asks

Visual	What it shows	Your job
Man-made process	Manufacturing, recycling, production or treatment in stages	Describe each stage in order, mainly in the passive
Natural process or cycle	Life cycles, geological or weather processes	Describe the sequence, mainly in the active, and say whether it loops
Maps of one place at two or three times	A town, campus, island or building before and after development	Describe what was built, removed, replaced, converted or extended
Proposed plans	A current layout and one or two future options	Describe the planned changes with future forms

The instruction is the same as for charts: summarise the main features and make comparisons where relevant, in at least 150 words. For a process, the main features are the stages and how they connect. For maps, they are the most significant changes and what stayed the same.

Core ideas

Processes: count, sequence, transform

Count the stages and find the start and end points. Is the process linear (raw material to product) or cyclical (it returns to the start)? This is your overview.
Use the passive for man-made processes, because the action matters more than who does it: the clay is shaped, the bottles are sorted. Use the active for natural processes: the eggs hatch, the island sinks.
Sequence with variety, not then… then… then:

Position	Language
Start	To begin with, / The process begins when… / In the first stage,
Middle	Next, / After this, / Subsequently, / At this point, / Once X has been + past participle,
Joining two stages

Check your understanding

3 questions on Academic Task 1: process diagrams and maps. Every option is explained once you answer.

Answers are checked on our side, every option is explained, and your result feeds your mastery for this topic. It’s free.

Flashcards

The first 3 of 10 cards for this topic. Sign in and finish the lesson to review them with spaced repetition.

PromptCard 1 of 3

Man-made process: which tense and voice?

Change	Verbs
Something new	was built / constructed / added; was laid out (roads, paths); was planted (trees)
Something gone	was demolished / knocked down (buildings); was cleared / cut down (woodland)
Swapped	was replaced by / gave way to / made way for
Same place, new use	was converted into / turned into / redeveloped as
Bigger or smaller	was extended / expanded / enlarged; was reduced in size
Moved	was relocated / moved to

Academic Task 1: process diagrams and maps

By the end you’ll be able to

What the exam asks

Core ideas

Processes: count, sequence, transform

Check your understanding

Flashcards

Maps: orient, compare, conclude

Structure

Worked examples

Exam technique

Common mistakes

Quick recap

By the end you’ll be able to

What the exam asks

Core ideas

Processes: count, sequence, transform

vii.Check your understanding

viii.Flashcards

Maps: orient, compare, conclude

Structure

Worked examples

Exam technique

Common mistakes

Quick recap

Check your understanding

Flashcards