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Process diagram: Paper manufacturing

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 paper is made from wood.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Paper manufacturing
  1. 1Felling treesLogs are cut from managed forests
  2. 2DebarkingBark is stripped from the logs
  3. 3ChippingLogs are cut into small wood chips
  4. 4PulpingChips are cooked with chemicals to form pulp
  5. 5BleachingThe pulp is washed and whitened
  6. 6PressingWater is squeezed out through rollers
  7. 7DryingHeated cylinders dry the paper sheet
  8. 8ReelingFinished paper is wound onto large reels

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, paper manufacture is a linear process of eight stages, beginning with the felling of trees and ending with finished paper wound onto reels.
  2. 2The first three stages prepare the wood: trees are felled, the bark is removed and the logs are chipped.
  3. 3The chips are cooked into pulp and bleached, and the paper is then pressed, dried and reeled.

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 (171 words)

The diagram shows how paper is made from wood, in a process that consists of eight stages.

Overall, the process is linear. Trees are first cut down and reduced to pulp, and the pulp is then pressed and dried into paper, which is finally wound onto reels. The first four stages produce the pulp, while the final four turn it into finished paper.

At the start of the process, trees are felled, and logs are cut from managed forests. The bark is then stripped from the logs, a stage known as debarking. Next, the logs are cut into small wood chips, which are cooked with chemicals to form pulp.

The second half of the process turns the pulp into finished paper. First, the pulp is washed and whitened in the bleaching stage. Water is then squeezed out of it by rollers during pressing. After that, the paper sheet is dried by heated cylinders.

In the final stage, the finished paper is wound onto large reels, ready to be delivered to customers.

Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
fell treescut down trees
strip the barkremove outer covering
wood chipssmall pieces of wood
pulpsoft mixture of fibres
be squeezed outbe pressed out
be wound ontobe rolled around

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