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Process diagram: Smartphone 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 the stages in producing a smartphone.

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

Write at least 150 words.

Smartphone manufacturing
  1. 1Mining materialsMetals and minerals are extracted
  2. 2Making componentsChips, screens and batteries are produced
  3. 3Circuit board assemblyParts are mounted on the main board
  4. 4Screen fittingThe display is attached to the frame
  5. 5Battery installationThe battery is connected and sealed in
  6. 6Software loadingOperating system is installed
  7. 7TestingEach phone is checked for faults
  8. 8PackagingPhones are boxed with chargers
  9. 9ShippingBoxes are sent to shops worldwide

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, smartphone production is a linear process of nine stages, from the mining of raw materials to the shipping of boxed phones to shops.
  2. 2The early stages involve extracting materials, making components and mounting them on the circuit board.
  3. 3In the final stages the screen and battery are fitted, the software is installed, and each phone is tested, packaged and shipped.

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 illustrates the nine stages involved in the production of a smartphone.

Overall, the process is linear. It begins with the extraction of raw materials and the production of components, continues with the assembly and testing of the phone, and ends with the shipping of finished products to shops. The first two stages deal with materials, the next three with assembly, and the last four with preparing, checking and delivering the finished phone.

First, metals and minerals are mined, and these materials are used to make components, such as chips, screens and batteries. The components are then assembled. Parts are mounted on the main circuit board, the display is attached to the frame, and the battery is connected and sealed in.

Once the phone has been assembled, the operating system is installed in the software loading stage. Each phone is then tested to check for faults.

In the last two stages, the phones are packaged, being boxed with chargers, and the boxes are shipped to shops all over the world.

Useful vocabulary

PhraseMeaning
extracttake out of the ground
componentsparts of a device
mount onattach to
be fitted withhave installed
quality testingchecking for faults
be shipped worldwidebe sent around the world

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