3 tips for writing a good Introduction for the IELTS Task 1 question (process)

In preparation for the Modal answer for the IETLS Task 1 question (process) that I will be posting on Friday 14th July 2017, I thought I would share a few of tips with you about what to include and how you can boost your mark.

1. Re - write the question

As with the introduction to any IELTS question, you have to re-write the question using your own words. Again, this is where paraphrasing the text / using synonyms comes in. There are several ways of doing this. For instance, in the case of the IELTS Task 1 question (process), the introductory sentence could be any of the following:

- This diagram illustrates how bricks are made.

- The pictures show the steps involved in producing bricks.

- The diagram highlights the process by which bricks are produced.

2. When to use active and when to use the passive voice

As you can see, I've underlined the passive voice verbs used in the above examples. However, there is a time and place where passive is used in answering such a question. The general rule for using the passive voice is:

'If you are writing about a natural process, use the active verb.'

For instance, The rain falls and nourishes the trees.

'If you are writing about a process, whereby the subject of the action is not important, use the passive voice.'

and

'If you are writing about the stages of producing something (usually man - made), use the passive voice.'

As an example, The oranges are picked, washed, stacked and packed. (in such sentences, only the first verb will be accompanied by the auxiliary 'are' (are picked), while the remaining verbs will be written in the past participle without the auxiliary 'are' (washed, stacked, packed).

In our IELTS Task 1 example, the diagram shows how bricks are produced, which is basically stages of production and something man- made, therefore, the introductory sentence should have to be written in the passive voice.

3. Add a mini over-view sentence

In order to further increase your mark, it's a very good idea to include a mini outline (over-view) sentence and write a short summary.

This would include writing about the number of stages involved in the process and listing the first and last stage.

In the case of our 'brick - making' example, the mini over-view could be (yours might be different to mine):

'The process consists of 8 stages, from having the clay dug by the digger, to having the packaged bricks delivered to their assigned destination.'

Note, a new method for writing a passive voice verb is:

having + objective + past participle (examples: having my car fixed, having the clay dug, having my exam marked....). This type of passive voice is more advanced, try to use it!

Hence, if we were to put together what we've written so far (using the passive voice), we would have our introduction to our question:

'The diagram highlights the process by which bricks are produced. The process consists of 8 stages, from having the clay dug by the digger, to having the packaged bricks delivered to their assigned destination.

Hope you've found this useful. PLEASE SHARE. I'll post more useful tips soon.

Good luck!