PART 1 

GARBAGE

Why do some people throw garbage on the street instead of using trash bins?

Well, those kind of people simply do not care about the environment. Those are the kind of people who lack self-discipline that throwing their trash anywhere has become their habit. It’s not that they lack of education but it’s because they don’t have any respect to the environment. 

 

LEXICAL RESOURCE

 

Lack [noun] – absence; shortage; inefficiency

Self-discipline [noun] – the ability to pursue what one thinks is right

Habit [noun] – practice; custom

 

TIP

i.) Here the speaker gave a realistic answer and explained his argument thoroughly. His reason focused on the character of the person and that made his answer very realistic.

What do you do if you see garbage on the street?

 

(Answer 1)

 

To be honest with you, I don’t do anything because in the first place, it’s not my trash. Well in our city, the local government has regular cleaners to maintain the cleanliness of our beloved city. Actually, it’s near to impossible to see some garbage on the street of our city since people abide the city regulations, if not, they will be penalized by paying a huge fine.

 

(Answer 2)

 

Well as I’m an advocate of protecting the environment, I do pick up the garbage on the street and put them in the trash bins. I often do that because I want to be a role model to the youth. I want to set myself as a good example to them that we the citizens of this world has an obligation to respect and protect the environment.

 

LEXICAL RESOURCE

Beloved [adj.] – dearly loved 

Near to impossible [idiom] – almost impossible

Abide [verb] – obey; follow

Penalize [verb] – punish

Fine [noun] – an amount of money to be paid for not obeying the rule

Advocate [noun] – a person who publicly supports a particular cause or policy

Pick up [phrasal verb] – to make the place clean

Role model [noun] – a person who is looked to by other people as an example

Obligation [noun] – responsibility

 

TIPS

 

i.) FIRST ANSWER: The speaker gave a straightforward negative answer then in order for him to expound his answer, he transitioned to talking about how clean his city was and what the government did in his city. In this case, he’s able to stretch his answer and that made him provide a brief answer. 

 

ii.) SECOND ANSWER: Here the speaker gave a very personal note. He talked about his drive to help conserve the environment and how he could impact to other people especially the youth. His answer here is a very well-thought and organized. 

 

How do you feel when you see people throw garbage on the street?

 

I do feel upset and miffed. There was a time that I needed to call out someone for throwing his trash on the street. To his surprise, he just picked his trash up and walked away. I believe he was so embarrassed. 

LEXICAL RESOURCE

Upset [adj.] – to be disturbed; unhappy

Miffed [adj.] – annoyed

Call out – criticize someone about something they have said or done

Walk away [phrasal verb] – to leave a place, situation, or a person 

TIP

i.) Here the speaker used some good descriptive words to answer the question about feelings. And in order for him to make his answer a bit longer, he talked about one instance when he needed to call the attention of one person who disrespected the environment. Because of that, the length of his answer became exact – neither short nor long.

Do you help in maintaining the streets tidy?

(Answer 1)

Well I don’t do anything except that I throw my garbage properly. Fortunately, the streets in our city are totally clean. You can never ever see any litter. Thanks to our government’s tremendous effort, people become educated about the importance of cleanliness.

 

(Answer 2)

Yes I do and I volunteer in a cleanup drive which is spearheaded by our town’s government officials every weekend. In our country, government leaders and officials are encouraging us citizens to take part in the government’s cleanup campaign. And I’m so inspired and happy that this campaign gets a positive response.

LEXICAL RESOURCE

 

Litter [noun] – trash; rubbish

Thanks to [phrase] – as a result to; due to

Tremendous [adj.] – very great; huge

Volunteer [noun] – a person who offers his service to do something; [verb] – freely offer to do something

Cleanup [noun] – an act to clean a place

Spearhead [verb] – lead

TIPS

i.) FIRST ANSWER: The speaker started his answer by giving a negative answer and used the sentence construction ‘except that…’ So basically his answer was not totally negative as he did something to the community to be clean. Then he shifted to talking about how clean their city was and how government played an essential role to maintain the cleanliness of their city. 

 

ii.) SECOND ANSWER: The speaker gave a positive response to the question then talked about his eagerness in cleaning. To add details to his answer,  he talked about the government’s campaign about cleaning and how people responded to the campaign.

Do you think your city is clean or not?
(Answer 1)

Well like I’ve just said, our city is absolutely clean, we the people in this city are law-abiding citizens. We follow the city regulations about cleanliness and we give importance to conserving Mother Earth. I’m more than happy that our efforts have come to fruition.

 

(Answer 2)

It’s such a shame to say no and I blame this to the city government because they don’t make any huge effort to clean our city. Of course, cleanliness starts at home but the lack political power of our city officials can be the main reason as well why our city is really dirty. I’m sure that when there is a strong implementation of the regulations about cleanliness for sure people follow. 

 

LEXICAL RESOURCE

 

Conserve [verb] – protect from destruction

Come to fruition [idiom] – to successfully realize

It’s such a shame [expression] – to say that something is unfortunate

Blame [verb] – to hold accountable

 

TIPS

i.) FIRST ANSWER: The speaker just reiterated on what he said about his city. Then talked about how they followed the regulations in his city and ended his answer by talking about his feelings. 

ii.) SECOND ANSWER: The speaker expressed his disappointment about how dirty his city was and how his government failed to address the problem. He pointed out the root cause of the problem and explained thoroughly. He sounded very natural on his first line by using a very good expression.

 

Sample Answer

The diagram illustrates various stages in the development of a salmon.

Overall, there are eight stages in the life cycle of the salmon, starting with eggs and continuing until they become fully-grown adults.

At the first stage of the life cycle, female salmons choose the best spot in rivers and lay a massive number of eggs, which are then incubated before developing into tiny fish. At this point, the fish have a long tail and do not yet have the appearance of a normal fish. In the next stage, the fish grow quickly in size and move downstream to freshwater areas, which are suitable for rearing, before migrating to estuaries where they continue to be reared.

At the following stage of the life cycle, the young fish become much bigger and begin their journey to the ocean where they develop into mature adult salmons. The adult fish migrate upstream to spawning areas of rivers where they will mate and spawn, and the life cycle starts again.

IELTS Writing Task 1: Question

A cycle diagram is a variation on the process diagram in which the process repeats itself. So it’s a good idea to make that point in your answer.

The diagram below illustrates the carbon cycle in nature.

Write a 150-word description of this diagram for a university lecturer.

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IELTS Writing Task 1: Model Answer

The diagram shows how carbon moves through various stages to form a complete cycle. This report will give a brief description of the main stages in this cycle.

First, we can see that energy from the sun is transformed into organic carbon through a process in plants known as photosynthesis. This organic carbon is then transferred underground when plants, and the animals that feed on them, die and decay. Some of this carbon is trapped underground in the form of fossils and fossil fuels.

Carbon is also released back into the atmosphere, however, through various means. One is when animals and plants respire, and another is when humans burn fossil fuels in cars and factories. All this carbon enters the atmosphere as CO2. It is then reabsorbed by plants, and the cycle begins again.

Overall, we can see that carbon moves in a natural cycle, although human factors may now be affecting the balance.

 The chart below shows the process of waste paper recycling.

The flow chart shows how waste paper is recycled. It is clear that there are six distinct stages in this process, from the initial collection of waste paper to the eventual production of usable paper.

At the first stage in the paper recycling process, waste paper is collected either from paper banks, where members of the public leave their used paper, or directly from businesses. This paper is then sorted by hand and separated according to its grade, with any paper that is not suitable for recycling being removed. Next, the graded paper is transported to a paper mill.

Stages four and five of the process both involve cleaning. The paper is cleaned and pulped, and foreign objects such as staples are taken out. Following this, all remnants of ink and glue are removed from the paper at the de-inking stage. Finally, the pulp can be processed in a paper making machine, which makes the end product: usable paper.

Man-made process – Production of lead pencils 

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

The diagram below shows two different processes for manufacturing black tea.

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

Write at least 150 words

MANUFACTURING TEA

Model answer:

The diagram shows the two processes for manufacturing black tea. The traditional way is used for making loose tea and modern process is ideal for teabags.

When collecting tea, the tea picker picks only the two top leaves and the bud of ensure a high quality tea. Then, the tea leaves go through withering, where leaves are spread out and air is passed through withering, where leaves are spread out and air is passed through them to remove up to 60 per cent of their moisture.

After that, the leaves are ready for rolling or cutting. Factories use traditional methods of rolling and crushing or faster modern methods of cutting, tearing and curling to make teabags. In both processes, natural enzymes are produced from the leaves. The next step is oxidation, where the enzymes from the leaves mix with the air. This changes the colour of the leaves from green to copper and creates a nice flavour and aroma. Finally, the leaves are fired and dried. By this stage, little moisture remains in the tea-just three per cent.

(178 words)

The diagram below shows the process of making five types of tea.

Summarize the information by reporting the main features and making comparisons where relevant. You should write at least 150 words.

The diagram outlines the steps involved in the production of five varieties of tea. Although all five kinds of tea are derived from the same variety of tea leaf, the leaves undergo different methods to ultimately create the diversity of teas.

After the tea leaves have grown, they are plucked from the plants and then withered to reduce moisture content. Leaves to produce white tea are then simply dried in an oven before they are ready for use.

In fact, the oven drying stage is the same for all of the types, but there are differences in the steps in between. Leaves for green tea are steamed and subsequently rolled before drying, while oolong and large-leaf black tea is only rolled.

The two remaining tea varieties differ in that they are put through a fermentation process. Leaves that will become oolong tea are partially fermented following being rolled, while large-leaf black tea, in contrast, is fully fermented. Finally, leaves destined to be small-leaf black tea, instead of being rolled, are crushed before fermentation,  which creates the small-leaf appearance. (180 words)

FULL SAMPLE ANSWERS

SIMPLE – The diagram indicates the key stages in production of milk

Producing milk begins with cows eating grass in a field and ends with milk and other related products being sold in stores.

In the first step, cows eat grass in a field. Twice a day, the cows are taken to a place where they are milked by a special milking machine. Once the cows have been milked, the milk is stored in large refrigeration tanks in order to keep it fresh. Every day, a milk tanker takes the milk from storage and delivers it to a dairy.

At the dairy, the milk is used in two ways. Some of the milk is pasteurized and packaged into bottles for sale. On the other hand, some of the milk is used to produce cream, cheese, and butter. Finally, the finished products are taken to stores where they can be purchased by customers. (150 words)

ADVANCED – The diagram outlines the principal stages in milk production as well as the manufacture of other dairy products.

Milk production begins with a herd of dairy cows grazing on grass and ends with dairy products being purchased by consumers.

As previously stated, the initial stage in the process is cows feeding on grass in a field. Twice a day, the cows are taken from the pasture to a milking facility where they are milked by an automated milking machine. The resulting milk is kept fresh in large refrigerated storage tanks. On a daily basis, the milk is collected by a milk tanker and transported to a dairy factory where further processes are applied to it in order to create a range of products.

Some of the milk is pasteurized – heat-treated to kill any harmful bacteria – while the rest is converted into other dairy products: cheese, cream, and butter. Ultimately, the finished dairy products are transported to shops and supermarkets where they may be purchased by the general public. (170 words)

SAMPLE ANSWER

The diagram shows the process of making instant coffee. Write a report of at least 150 words showing the main features and making comparisons where relevant.

FULL ANSWER

The diagram illustrates the steps involved in the manufacturing of instant coffee, beginning with picking the beans and ending with sale in stores.

In order to produce instant coffee, the beans must undergo a variety of processes including drying, grinding, heating, and cooling.

To begin with, coffee beans are harvested by hand and then left out in the sun to dry. Once the beans are dry, they are roasted in a special oven and then cooled rapidly. Next, the beans are ground into a powder which is then combined with hot water. Following this, the mixture is strained and then the filtered material is frozen. In the subsequent stage, the frozen mixture is ground once more and then the granules are dried in a vacuum, which is used in order to completely remove all moisture. Finally, the dried instant coffee powder is packaged into containers and can now be transported to stores for sale. (154 words)