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Process diagram: Life cycle of a frog

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 the stages in the life of a frog.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Life cycle of a frog
  1. 1Spawn laidFemale lays eggs in a pond
  2. 2Embryo developsThe egg grows inside its jelly coating
  3. 3Tadpole hatchesA tadpole with a tail swims out
  4. 4Gills and tailIt breathes underwater and eats algae
  5. 5Back legs growHind legs appear after several weeks
  6. 6Front legs growLungs develop and arms emerge
  7. 7FrogletThe tail shortens as the body changes
  8. 8Adult frogIt leaves the water and later returns to breed

The cycle then repeats from stage 1.

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, the life cycle of a frog is a continuous process with eight stages, in which an egg grows into a tadpole, then an adult that returns to the water to breed.
  2. 2The early stages take place in water: eggs are laid as spawn, the embryo develops and the tadpole hatches and breathes through gills.
  3. 3The tadpole grows back legs and front legs, its tail shortens as a froglet, and the adult leaves the water before returning to breed.

Write it on the clock

Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.

20:00

0 words of 150 minimum

Your answer stays on this page only. Copy it before you leave.

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 (175 words)

The diagram shows the stages in the life cycle of a frog, from the laying of spawn to the adult frog.

Overall, the cycle has eight stages. The frog begins life in water and develops legs and lungs, and the adult returns to the water to breed, so that the cycle continues.

The cycle begins when the female lays eggs, known as spawn, in a pond. Inside its jelly coating, each embryo develops, and a tadpole with a tail then hatches and swims out. The tadpole breathes underwater using gills and eats algae.

After several weeks, the hind legs appear. Later, lungs develop and the front legs emerge, so that the tadpole starts to look like a small frog.

In the next stage, the animal becomes a froglet, and its tail shortens as the body changes. Finally, it is an adult frog. The adult leaves the water, but it later returns to the pond in order to breed, and the cycle starts again. This means that the adult spends part of its life on land.

Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
spawnfrog eggs
tadpoleyoung frog with a tail
gillsorgans for breathing underwater
develop legsgrow limbs
breathe with lungstake in air
reach adulthoodbecome fully grown

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