Write at least 150 words · 20 minutes
The diagram below shows how waste paper is recycled to produce new paper products. Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
- 1Waste paper collected from homes
- 2Paper sorted by grade
- 3Mixed with water to make pulp
- 4Pulp screened to remove plastics
- 5Ink removed by washing
- 6Pulp bleached and refined
- 7Pulp spread onto rollers and pressed
- 8Paper dried and wound into reels
- 9Reels cut and sent to manufacturers
How to structure your report
- Introduction: paraphrase what the process diagram shows.
- Overview: two or three main features or trends, with no numbers. This is the most important sentence for your band.
- Two body paragraphs: group the details logically and compare them, quoting the key figures.
- No opinion and no conclusion of your own: describe only what is shown.
A plan for this chart
- Introduction: paraphrase the diagram: how waste paper is recycled to make new paper products.
- Overview: there are nine stages, from collecting used paper at homes to sending new reels to manufacturers; most of the process turns the paper into clean pulp.
- Body 1: stages 1 to 5: collection, sorting, making pulp, screening out plastics and washing out the ink.
- Body 2: stages 6 to 9: bleaching and refining, pressing on rollers, drying and winding into reels, cutting and sending to manufacturers.
Model report
167 words
The diagram illustrates the process by which waste paper is recycled to make new paper products.
Overall, there are nine stages in the process, beginning with the collection of used paper from homes and ending with the delivery of new paper to manufacturers. Most of the stages involve turning the waste paper into pulp and cleaning it, and it is a linear process, with each stage following directly from the one before.
First, waste paper is collected from households, and it is then sorted according to its grade. After this, the paper is mixed with water to produce pulp. The pulp is screened in order to remove any plastics, and the ink is then removed by washing.
Once it has been cleaned, the pulp is bleached and refined. It is then spread onto rollers and pressed, after which the new paper is dried and wound into reels. In the final stage, the reels are cut and sent to manufacturers, who use them to make new paper products.
Written by Acedmi to show what a high-band report looks like. It is not an official IELTS sample, and your own ideas can be different.
Useful vocabulary
- is collected / is sorted
- The passive: used when the action matters more than who does it.
- “Waste paper is collected from homes.”
- according to
- Based on.
- “The paper is sorted according to its grade.”
- pulp
- A soft, wet mixture made by mixing paper with water.
- “The paper is mixed with water to make pulp.”
- screen
- Pass something through a filter to remove unwanted material.
- “The pulp is screened to remove plastics.”
- bleach
- Make something whiter using chemicals.
- “The pulp is bleached before it is pressed.”
- wind into reels
- Roll a long sheet around a centre.
- “The dried paper is wound into reels.”
- once / after which
- Linking words that show one stage follows another.
- “Once it has been cleaned, the pulp is bleached.”
- in the final stage
- At the end of the process.
- “In the final stage, the reels are cut.”
Common mistakes
- Using the active voice with "people": "people collect the paper". Processes are usually described in the passive: "the paper is collected".
- Leaving out stages. Every stage should appear; group them into two body paragraphs instead of skipping some.
- Missing the overview. Say how many stages there are and where the process begins and ends.