The IELTS diagram below shows two diagram processes in two different time periods – present and future. The diagram was reported in the test twice and will likely appear again as IELTS do recycle writing tasks. This is also known as an IELTS Process.
For diagrams, you must pay attention to key stages of the process. All IELTS writing task1 reports will have an overview and this includes diagrams. The overview is the key paragraph and must summarise the key stages but without writing a list. See the model answer below to learn about this.
IELTS Diagram Process: Water Supply Systems
Below you will find a band score 9 model answer for an IELTS Diagram/Process.
IELTS Diagram Model Answer
Note: When you read the model answer below, pay attention to the different tenses used. See if you can spot the future passive voice.
The diagram illustrates the way the water supply system currently works in Australia and how the system will be changed in the future.
Overall, although both systems use the dam as a water supply, the present system returns both storm and waste water directly or indirectly to the river, whereas the future system plans to recycle both forms of water.
The current water supply system shows that water is stored in a dam before being transferred to a city to be used by households, shops and factories. From the city, storm water is directed straight into the river, by contrast waste water is sent to a water treatment plant to be processed. After the waste water is treated, it is safe to be released into the river.
Regarding the future water supply system, water will be brought from the dam for the same uses as in the present. However, both the storm water and waste water from the city are to be directed to the water treatment plant for processing after which they will both be recycled for use in the city. It is planned that no water will be released back into the river.
195 words
Three Key Points:
- The introduction provides a paraphrase of the rubric given. It is a short, functional paragraph.
- The overview summarises the diagram without getting lost in detail and without forming a list of stages. The overview is sufficiently developed for a high score.
- The body paragraphs are well organised with flexible linking which allows for accurate, complex sentence structures as well as a logical order of information. Tenses are used flexibly to show present and future information. As with most diagrams, the passive voice is used alongside the active voice. Vocabulary and collocations are used with accuracy and flexibility.
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
- ANOTHER IELTS DIAGRAM/PROCESS
- IELTS DIAGRAM LIFE CYCLE
- How to Write an Introduction for Task 1: Free Video
- ALL MODEL ANSWERS, TIPS AND LESSONS FOR WRITING TASK 1
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I love your teachings Ma’am
Thank you so much
You’re very welcome 🙂
Hello Liz, May you give me comment about my WT1 ?
The diagrams illustrate the way the current water supply system in Australia works and proposed changes for the future.
Overall, although both systems begin with storing water in a dam and delivering water to the city for uses, the current system returns both storm water and waste water to the river whereas the future system will be planned to recycle both types of water.
Reviewing the present water supply system, pure water is stored in a dam before being transported to the city to be used by shops, restaurants and households. After that, while the wastewater is sent to the sewage treatment to remove harmful contaminants and eliminate impurities, stormwater flows directly to the river.
In contrast, in the proposed future system, the uses of clean water from the storage to the city remain unchanged. However, the noticeable alteration is that both wastewater and stormwater will be transmitted to the water treatment plant. Here, they are purified by filtration, chemical and biological processes to ensure water is clean and safe to reuse before being returned to the city. Consequently, this change prevents any untreated water from being released into the river and will be likely to decrease water pollution in Australia’s river due to its improved design.Ultimately, this new system not only ensure a more sustainable water supply also contributes significantly to the preservation of the natural environment.”
Although my website isn’t made to provide feedback on writing, I do have time for a few quick comments.
1) Your writing is very good and on the whole you are grasping IELTS well.
2) review your use of future passive (when and when not to use passive voice). For example, “the future system will be planned to recycle both types of water” = “the future system will recycle…”
3) Your body paragraph should be divided into two paragraph in a logical way.
4) Never add details that are not given in the diagram and never add opinions. a) there is no information in the diagram that there are chemicals used. You are marked down for add details that do not exist on the paper in front of you. b) that this system will improve the environment is not given in the diagram. We know that this system is good, but that isn’t mentioned in the diagram so you can’t add it. IELTS are very strict about marking the information you present.
It’s nice to see someone from Vietnam on my website. Hope to see more of you in the future. I used to teach at the British Council in Hanoi and have a strong connection in my heart to Vietnam.
thank you so much <333
thank you so much
please check, The diagram illustrates the current water supply plan in motion and the one to be implemented in future in Australia
Overall, The water system currently In used does not recycle water, which is set to change in the upcoming water supply system.
In the current system the pure water is transported from a dam to the city which is then used by households, shops and factories. Only the waste water is directed to the water treatment plant. The water treatment plant treats the water and releases it into the river, whereas the storm water is directly released in the river.
In the future Australia will be adopting a new water supply system, which will focus on water recycling. The city will receive its pure water from a dam which will be used by households, factories and shops, later the waste water and storm water generated by the city will be supplied to the water treatment plant, where it will get purified and will be transported back to the city to be recycled.
I have just updated the page above with a new model answer for you. Please use it to compare with your writing. However, I will make one quick comment on your writing. You’ve got great use of tenses but there are other grammar features to pay attention to. For example, you wrote:
“The city will receive its pure water from a dam which will be used by households, factories and shops, later the waste water and storm water generated by the city will be supplied to the water treatment plant, where it will get purified and will be transported back to the city to be recycled.” This should be divided into two sentences:
“The city well receive water from the dam which will be used by households, factories and shops. After that, the waste water and storm water generated by the city will be sent to the water treatment plant where it will get recycled and the purified water will be returned for use in the city”
Also, don’t repeat information. You already mentioned in your first body paragraph that in the present system dam water is used by households, factories and shops – you don’t need to repeat this word for word in the next body paragraph. Review my model answer on the page above to learn how I avoided this. Otherwise, you’ve got precisely the right techniques, but do extend your overview.
Thanks for the feedback
The two diagrams illustrate the current system in usage for supplying water in Australia and a more developed system to supply water in the future.
Overall, the future water supply system is aimed at processing and reusing the waste water and storm water, after treating them in a water treatment plant rather than letting them as waste water in the river, as it occurs in the presently existing system.
Currently, the pure water from dam or storage is supplied to houses, factories and shops in the city. The waste water generated after using them is sent to a water treatment plant, where the treated water, which is not safe for usage is let out in the river. The storm water that gets collected in the city is released into the river as well.
The future plan for a developed water supply system focuses on not wasting the water by letting it in the river. The source of pure water is the same and after the water gets used by the city, the generated waste water will be treated in the water treatment plant, by a way that it becomes safe for consumption. Also the storm water harvested will be made to undergo this process by directing them to the water treatment plant. The recycled pure water will be supplied back to houses, factories, shops and industries in the city for daily usage, making sure no water gets wasted by mixing up in the river.
hey Liz, check mine, please
The given illustrations present the current and future water supply process in Australia. The main difference between both systems is that in the future water supply process, water from households, shops, and factories will be recycled and not disposed of in the river.
In the current water supply system, clean water from lake storage is supplied to the city, from there, dirty water gets transferred to the water treatment unit and then the treated water is disposed of in the river along with the stormwater from the city.
On the other hand, the future system will be using the recycling of water through water treatment. Initially, the pure water will be stored in the lake just like the current water supply process before being supplied to the city for households, shops, and factories. Then later, stormwater and unclean water from the city will be treated in a water treatment plant, and in the end, it will be supplied back to the city to utilize it again rather than releasing it into a river.
The overview paragraph is the most important paragraph in your writing task 1. It is crucial for a high score. You need to start with “Overall” so that the examiner can quickly locate it.
The bar chart shows the present water supply system in Australia as well as the one it is predicted to have in the future.
In the present water supply system, pure water stored in the dam supplies all the areas in the country and then waste water from these places flow into the river either before or after being treated by the water treatment plant. But in the future, all of the waste water would be treated and returned back to the city as pure water without contaminating the river.
Presently, water stored in the dam supplies factories, households, shops and cities in Australia and then after usage, the waste water from these places escape into the river through storms while the rest of the waste water is treated before it also flows into the river.
However, in the future, the waste water gotten from communities in Australia is predicted to simply be treated and then pumped back into the city as fresh water to be re-used by residents and factories, thus terminating pollution of the river by contaminated waste water.
Please make sure your writing task 1 only contains the information given in the task, not your opinions or predictions or your knowledge.
please Liz, i do request you to check my this task as my exam is nearby and i did take no tuitions etc.
here we go,
The diagram for “present water supply” describes about the current methodology being used to solve water crisis in Australia (we cant mention water crisis bcz its not given here?). While in the second picture (can say?)/ diagram, the process to be adopted in future for water supply is being illustrated.
The main difference bw current and future water supply is to safeguard rivers completely from waste and storm water in future.
Presently, the pure water is supplied from dams and water storage bodies to households, shops and factories in the city, while the storm water which gets collected during rain is sent to rivers. And the waste water from city is sent to water treatment plant. There water gets treated to be safe to sent back to rivers.
while in the future plan, dams and storage will be used for conserving pure water same as now. the pure water from these bodies will be sent (or send?) to houses (can use?), shops and factories in the city. while waste and storm water will be directed to water treatment plant. After getting treated there, the treated water will be supplied back to the city for various usage purposes by people, factories.
Hence, in future, the waste and storm water will not be directed to rivers for the safety and serenity of rivers.
I see that you haven’t trained in IELTS exam preparation. But my website contains lots of pages of free preparation materials for you to learn from including free video lessons, tips, model answers etc. Please use all pages on my website to learn and develop your exam skills. These model answers are for you to learn from. See the main writing task 1 section of this website: https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-writing-task-1-lessons-and-tips/
The given diagrams illustrate the mechanisms of Australia’s current water supply system and the plans for future adjustments. Overall, the key difference for future changes is based on recycling the water for use in the city instead of channeling it to the river.
Australia’s current approach to supplying water in the city utilizes pure water stored in the dam for usage in households, factories, and shops. Consequently, the wastewater is directed to the water treatment plant to eliminate contaminants and remove impurities. Alongside the storm water from the city which does not undergo any process, the now safe waste water is released to the river.
As for the future water supply system, the utilization of pure water from the storage for purposes in the city remains unchanged. However, it is planned that the waste water together with the storm water from the city be directed to the water treatment plant for treatment and purification processes. This is so that they both meet the safety standard and can be recycled back to the city. There will be no water released into the river at the end of the process.
You write well. However, your overview is limited. The overview is the most important part of your writing task 1. So, don’t limit it. Make sure to cover all key features or it will lower your score for Task Achievement.
The figure depicts the current and new expected process in which water is provided in Australia.
Overall, the main idea of the new system is to change the way in which both storm and waste water run to avoid being displaced into the river as it happens in the actual system.
In this way, the current process consists of feeding the urban zone with clean water from the dam where it is stored. After this, the contaminated water goes to a plant where it is treated to later be poured into the river along with the water from rainfalls.
Whereas under the new system, it is intended to seek that both kinds of water not fit for consumption instead of being deposited into the river, will be now stored in the water treatment plant to be later supplyed in the urban area. In this form, the city and its surroundings will be now provided not only with water from the dam but with treated water from the plant, leaving the river free of contaminated water.
The diagram illustrates two types of water supply system (present water supply system and future water supply system) and how to process three types of water (pure water, storm water and waste water) in Australia.
Overall, it can be seen that the number of steps for the water supply stages is the same for both of them. The stages includes a Dam/Storage phase, user phase, a water treatment plant and the river. It is easy to say by looking at the diagrams, there is going to be more sustainable way of using water in the future. At present system waste water went to the river, while future water supply created a recycling without sending water to the river.
The storage phase is the same for both of them. After storage phase, water goes to households, shops, factories and to the city. The difference between two diagrams starts after this stage. At present system gives storm water directly to the river, on the other hand future future supply system gives it to the water treatment plant after it is used.
Waste water always goes to the water treatment for both of them but, today’s water supply system sends it to the river while future water system pump it back.
The line graph below illustrates the number of products transported in the UK between 1974 from 2002.
Overall, it shows that the most effective form of transportation was road throughout the whole time period and the least was pipeline.
From 1974 to 1982, almost 70 million tonnes of products were transported via road. After this, it experienced a gradual increase and reached 80m tonnes in the year 1990. Although it dropped a little bit in 1994, transportation dramatically rose up to 95m tonnes where it remained almost unchanged for the next 2 years.
The water and the rail were almost in the same quantity from 1974 to 1978 at 40m tonnes. After that, both showed an opposite trend. The waterway got increased to around 56m and remained almost constant until 1994 when it experienced a slit drop at 50m. However, in 1998 it gave a comeback and crossed the 60m at the end of the period. On the other hand, rail showed a fluctuating trend throughout the whole period and hardly crossed the 40m in 2002 where it was at the beginning.
Although a few transportations were made by pipeline it showed an upward trend and crossed the 20m bar in 1994 from around 4m and remained consistent there from 1994 to 2003.
The diagrams illustrate the process of water supply to different parts in Australia, and how the process will be improved in the future.
Overall, the diagrams show that pure water is stored in a dam to be supplied to the households, factories, and shops. From the city, storm water is sent directly to the river and waste water is sent to the water treatment plant to be recycled, then, it is sent to the river.
Nowadays, the dam stores pure water to be used when needed. This pure water is supplied to households, factories, and shops. Most of this water is polluted since it has been used by people at different parts of the city. Storm water is sent directly to the river while waste water must be treated before it is sent to the river, thus, it is sent to the water treatment plant where it goes through a cleaning process.
In the future, pure water will be stored in the dam and will be supplied to households, factories, and shops as nowadays. The difference will be that both storm and waste water will be sent to the water treatment plant to clean and recycle it then resend it to the city. None of the waste water nor the storm water will be send to the river anymore.
I have seen you preferring 4 paragraphs for bar & pie charts, but in the case of diagrams, I am noticing that you have used just one paragraph for both introduction and overview. Are we supposed to do the same?
Here also you used 3 paras https://ieltsliz.com/ielts-diagram/
There are no rules in IELTS for this. I put the intro in the same paragraph as the overview with a diagram because the intro is often just a few words in length. As long as the two are easy to distinguish, it’s fine. This means that even if there is only one paragraph, you can identify the introduction and you can also identify the overview.
I have read so many model answers for writing task 1 which weren’t provided by you on other websites. I can easily say, yours are hands down the best. From paraphrasing, to grouping information in paragraphs, everything seems perfect.
Also, hope you’re doing well. God bless for all that you’ve done. Thank you. 🙂
Glad you are enjoying my site. IELTS isn’t complicated. It is made complicated by others. Writing task 1 reports are not difficult. As you see a lot of it is actually logic, organisation, detail etc. There are no special tricks – just simple report writing.
The digrams provides information about the water supply system in Australia at the present in the fisrt one and in future at the second one
According to the digram water is being held in a dam or a water tank , pure clean water is being transferred to the use of households, factories and shops for every day use , waste water from the city goes straight in to the water treatment plant center so it can be purified and transformed in to the river as will as storm water
The second digram illustrates that the future water system will no longer go in the river , purified water will be distributed to the same destinations households shops and factories, waste water will be transferred to the water treatment center and storm water will too .
The graphic gives information about the water supply system working in Australia nowadays and also forecast the future plan of water supply.Three types of water are involved(pure water,stormwater and wastewater)
Overall,pure water is supplied in Australia for different uses from dams and in the future,from water treatment plants too.Storm is expelling directly into the river,as compared to transfer for treatment in the future and waste water will not be thrown into the river.
In the present time,fresh water from the storage tank or dams is transferred to shops,cities, factories and for household usage,but in the future plan,pure water will also be supplied back from the water purification plant.
However,the wastewater of shops and other sources is moved to the water treatment system,for cleaning and from here,it is expelled into the river in the present plan.But in the future,no water will be thrown into the river same for the stormwater which will also be directed for treatment as against expelling into the river nowadays.
The flow chart illustrates how the water supply system currently works in Australia. It also shows the plan for future changes.
Overall, the most striking feature of the chart is about recycling of waste water and storm water. While now only the waste water is being recycled and storm water directly goes to the river, in future this system will change that every water will be recycled and send back to city for use.
Currently, Pure water which was stored in dam is directly going to city for households, shops, and factories. After being used, the waste water draining from city is directly going to water treatment plant for recycling process before flowing to the river. On the other hand, storm water from city is directly running into the river without any hindrance.
In the new plan, there was no change in the storage of pure water in the dam and sending it to city for usage. However, as the major change, both the waste water and storm water from the city will be sent to recycling unit and directed to the city again after being processed. Therefore, as per the new plan no water will be flowed to the river from either city or treatment plant.
You are amazing. Thanks 😊
What if I say ‘drawings’ instead of ‘diagrams’? Would I be negatively scored for that?
IT is not an appropriate word to use and that falls under the marking criterion of Vocabulary which is 25% of your marks.
I got this same writing task in test performed in New Zealand on 12 dec,2019; unluckily I could not respond like this. I used clean water for clean water no change of words and my response said water goes to the city, it looks wrong too. Things would have different if I have read this task written by dear Liz. 🙁
Hi Liz!
I’m confused….is it really”
The diagram illustrates or the two diagrams illustrate?
It works / they work (singular third person “s” and plural)
Hi Liz! Your tips and ideas have been very helpful… I would like to express a cordial gratitude for your effort… I have a small query. Do we need an overview for a diagram/ process writing?
BEST Regards,
Alisha
ALL writing task 1 for the academic paper require an overview. It is the most important paragraph.
Is it a process or map
This is a process. It is not a map.
Is there anything like this that diagram has to be written in passive voice always?
Thanks
The examiner is expecting to see a range of tenses, not just one.
Hi Liz and readers,
Do you think these paragraphs will score 7 and above for WT1?
The diagram illustrates the way different kinds of water (pure, storm and waste) flows from the area where it’s kept going to the river and water treatment plant in Australia in two different time periods (present and future).
Overall, pure water comes presently from the Dam and is sent to the households, factories, shops and city which is the same with the future water supply system. The current water supply transfers the storm water to the river as opposed to the future system where it will go directly to the water treatment plant straight from the city.
The water used now by the households, shops, factories and city goes to the water treatment plant and is being pushed to the river whereas in the future water supply system, waste water will be pushed back to the households as pure water which is the same process they will do with regards to the storm water.
Can i use the word The above pictorial representation illustrates…. for the start of introduction instead of the the diagram below shows…? is it fine?
A diagram is a diagram – you do not need to change that word. There are plenty of other words that can be paraphrased.
Respected Madam,
Almost whole Task 1 answer is written in Passive Voice Tenses. Is it feasible?
thanks
Your aim is to show flexibility in the use of tenses.
I wish i could write like this or atleast similar to this on my paper
Hi Liz.
I love your site. It is really helpful. I want to ask you about task 2 for writing. I saw in a comment you told a guy whe the question says “is it a negative or a possitive effect?” You said you have to choose only one of them because of the word OR. What about when the question says “to what extent do you agree or disagree?” Is it the same I can only write about one of them but not both?
Thank you in advance Liz!
The second type of essay asks for your opinion, you give it and explain. You can agree fully or partially. See my online advanced lessons for full training: http://subscriptions.viddler.com/IELTSLizStore
All the best
Liz
Dear Liz,
Hello. I am living in an village in north of Iran. when I come to the closest small town, I download and print your valuable lessons for IELTS. I would like to express my feeling and thanks for your great web page and it’s excellent lesson. there is no teacher for English here and you gave us this chance to learn pure English and the best usage of it.
I’m really pleased you can benefit from my blog 🙂
Good luck with your studies .
Liz
Hi Liz!
In what country did this question come out? 🙂
The chart given depicts the flow of present and future water supply system in Australia.
At present, water supply system in Australia starts at the Dam, wherein water is being stored, it will then supply pure water to City for the consumer usage like households, shops, and factories. Consequently, after usage, waste water flows to a Water treatment plant and will finally released to the river, as well as the storm water from the City.
However, water supply system in the future will be directed to the Water treatment plant. Waste water from the City, also the storm water will be released directly to the treatment plant. Households, shops, factories and alike will received pure water from the Dam and Water treatment plant.
In the end, it can be concluded that the projected future water supply system excludes the river on the system and all of the unclean water will be directed to Water treatment plan for recycling.
HI maam! Just tried this chart and If you could please mark my work? Many thanks! 🙂
Sorry I do not give feedback on writing.
All the best
Liz
Hello! I would just like to ask if its okay not to have an overview of the topic on the intro part? Instead, a conclusion on the last part? Thanks in advance 🙂
See this lesson: https://ieltsliz.com/writing-task-1-report-structure/
Liz