The Process of Pu-erh Raw Tea and Ripe Tea.
Sample Response
The diagram illustrates the production ofillustrates the process of making pu-erh ripe tea and raw teapu-erh Ripe tea and Raw tea.
Overall, both tea-making processes have three same initial stages: pan frying, rolling and drying under the sun after this process differs for ripe and raw teas.
In the pan-frying stagepan frying process, the tea leavesleaves of trees are placed in a large pantaken into a big pan and pan-friedallowed to fry, which inactivates the enzymeswhich causes the inactivation of enzymes. The leaves are thenThen the leaves are rolled and sun-drieddried under sunlight. After the three common stepscompletion of 3 common steps, making ripe tea involves three more steps. After drying under the sun, loose raw tea undergoes fermentation by mould and becomes loose ripe teabecomes loose, ripe tea, and is then compressed to produce pu-erh ripe teawhich becomes pu-erh ripe tea after compression.
To make raw teaFor making raw tea, loose raw tea is compressedrequires compression to produceform pu-erh raw tea, and after ageing in storageafter ageing, it becomes vintage pu-erh raw tea. The process of making raw tea involves only a single step as compared to ripe tea, which involves three steps.
Why this response received Band 6.5
The response clearly follows both production branches and accurately reports almost all the stages from pan-frying through the two finished tea products. Its main weakness is the inaccurate final comparison that describes raw tea as requiring only one further step, although compression and ageing are both shown, while some awkward grammar reduces fluency. Correct that comparison and refine sentence control while preserving the clear stage-by-stage organisation.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
A clear overview and an almost complete account of both branches are provided, but the final claim that raw tea has only one additional step contradicts the diagram.
Correctly compare the branches by stating that raw tea is compressed and aged, while ripe tea is fermented and then compressed.
Coherence and Cohesion
The response progresses logically from the shared stages to the ripe and raw branches, with effective paragraphing despite some repetitive sequencing.
Make the branching point explicit once, then use concise parallel descriptions of the two routes to strengthen comparison.
Lexical Resource
Relevant process vocabulary is used accurately overall, though repetition and awkward phrases such as “three same initial stages” limit flexibility.
Use natural process phrasing such as “the same three initial stages,” “the process then divides,” and “undergoes ageing in storage.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
A mix of simple and complex structures generally communicates the process clearly, but article, agreement, and sentence-boundary errors recur.
Revise long sentences for clean clause boundaries and check determiners and subject-verb agreement in each stage description.
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IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The Process of Pu-erh Raw Tea and Ripe Tea.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.