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Process diagram: Olive oil 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 olive oil is produced from olives.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Olive oil production
  1. 1HarvestingOlives are shaken from the trees onto nets
  2. 2CleaningLeaves and twigs are removed
  3. 3CrushingOlives are ground into a paste
  4. 4MalaxingThe paste is slowly stirred for 30 minutes
  5. 5PressingOil is separated from the solids
  6. 6CentrifugeOil and water are separated by spinning
  7. 7FilteringSediment is removed from the oil
  8. 8BottlingOil is stored in tanks, then bottled

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, olive oil production is a linear process with eight stages, from harvesting olives to bottling the oil.
  2. 2The olives are harvested, cleaned and crushed into a paste, which is stirred slowly in a process called malaxing.
  3. 3The oil is then separated from the solids by pressing and from the water in a centrifuge, filtered and bottled.

Write it on the clock

Spend the first few minutes planning, then write.

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 (171 words)

The diagram illustrates how olive oil is produced from olives, in a process that consists of eight stages.

Overall, the process is linear. The olives are harvested and crushed into a paste, the oil is separated from the solids and the water, and it is finally filtered and bottled. The first three stages prepare the olives, the next four extract and refine the oil, and the last stage packages it.

To begin with, olives are shaken from the trees onto nets, and leaves and twigs are then removed during cleaning. The olives are crushed and ground into a paste, which is slowly stirred for 30 minutes in a stage known as malaxing.

After that, the oil is separated from the solids by pressing. Next, in the centrifuge stage, spinning is used to separate the oil from the water.

In the last two stages, any sediment is removed from the oil by filtering. Finally, the oil is stored in tanks, and it is then bottled, so that it is ready for sale.

Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
harvestcollect a crop
shake from treesmake fruit fall from branches
crush into a pastegrind into a soft mass
stir slowlymix gently
centrifugemachine that spins to separate liquids
be filteredbe passed through to remove solids

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