The flowchart illustrates the production of coloured plastic paper clips in a small factory.
Sample Response
There are four main stages in the production of plastic paper clips infrom this small factory. Two of these stages involve the manufactureactual preparation of the clips, while the other two consist of quality control before the clips are packed and dispatchedbefore the clips are sent out from the factory to the retailers to be sold to the public.
To begin with, molten plastic is poured into three different moulds depending on the colour required; the colours are red, blue and yellow. Once these clips emerge from the moulds, a qualitymoulds a quality control machine checks them for strength. Unsatisfactory clips are rejected. In the third stage,In the third stage in the process the clips are sortedstored by hand into two groups, mixed and single colours. When this stage is complete the groups are checked a second time to ensure that the colour mixtures are divided correctly into single colours and mixed colour batches. Finally, the clips are packed and dispatched Deleteto the markets.
Why this response received Band 8.0
The response presents the process clearly, with a strong overview and an accurate, logically sequenced account of the principal production and checking stages. Its main weakness is a small loss of precision: sorting is called storing, and the outcome for clips that fail the second colour check is omitted. Prioritise exact process terminology and include the return-to-sorting loop shown in the diagram.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
The response provides a clear overview and accurately covers nearly all major stages, but it omits the return loop after the second quality check.
Show that incorrectly grouped clips return to manual sorting before being checked again.
Coherence and Cohesion
The process is organised in a logical sequence, and cohesive references guide the reader smoothly through the stages.
Use a separate sentence or clearer transition when moving from the second quality check to the final outcome.
Lexical Resource
A wide and precise process vocabulary is used effectively, with the isolated choice of stored instead of sorted reducing precision slightly.
Check process verbs carefully so that each action matches the diagram exactly.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A varied range of complex structures is handled accurately, with only minor punctuation and phrasing imperfections.
Refine punctuation around longer stage descriptions to make already accurate complex sentences even easier to read.
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The flowchart illustrates the production of coloured plastic paper clips in a small factory.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.