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Process diagram: Chocolate production

Pick out the main features of this process diagram for your overview, write your report on a 20-minute timer, then compare it with a band-8 model answer.

WRITING TASK 1

Process diagram

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows how chocolate is produced from cocoa beans.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

Chocolate production
  1. 1Harvesting podsRipe cocoa pods are cut from the trees
  2. 2Opening podsWorkers split the pods and remove the beans
  3. 3FermentationBeans are heaped under leaves for about a week
  4. 4DryingBeans are spread out and dried in the sun
  5. 5RoastingDried beans are roasted at high temperature
  6. 6WinnowingShells are removed, leaving the nibs
  7. 7GrindingNibs are ground into cocoa liquor
  8. 8ConchingSugar and milk are added and the mix is smoothed
  9. 9MouldingLiquid chocolate is poured into moulds and cooled

GoPrep wrote this practice question in the style of the exam. It is not an official IELTS question.

What your overview should say

An overview names the main trends or differences in one or two sentences, without numbers. These are the features a strong answer picks out:

  1. 1Overall, chocolate production is a linear process with nine stages, starting with the harvesting of cocoa pods and ending with the moulding of the finished chocolate.
  2. 2The first four stages take place on the plantation, where pods are harvested and opened, and the beans are fermented and dried.
  3. 3The beans are then roasted, winnowed and ground, and finally sugar and milk are added before the chocolate is poured into moulds.

Write it on the clock

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20:00

0 words of 150 minimum

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Band-8 model answer

Write your own answer first, then compare: how it answers the exact question, what each paragraph does, and which phrases you could borrow.

Show model answer (179 words)

The diagram shows how chocolate is produced from cocoa beans, a process that consists of nine stages.

Overall, the production line begins with the harvest of the cocoa pods and ends with the moulding of the finished chocolate. The beans are first prepared by fermenting and drying, and they are then processed into liquid chocolate.

To begin with, ripe cocoa pods are cut from the trees. The pods are then opened by workers, who split them and remove the beans. Next, the beans are heaped under leaves for about a week so that they ferment, and afterwards they are spread out and dried in the sun.

Once the beans are dry, they are roasted at a high temperature. The shells are then removed in a process called winnowing, which leaves only the nibs. These nibs are ground into cocoa liquor.

In the final two stages, sugar and milk are added to the cocoa liquor, and the mixture is smoothed by conching. Finally, the liquid chocolate is poured into moulds and cooled, at which point it is ready for sale.

Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
harvestpick a crop
fermentlet natural chemical change occur
winnowseparate shells from the useful part
grind intocrush to a paste or powder
conchingmixing and smoothing chocolate
be poured into mouldsbe put into shaping containers

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