Section 4 / Lesson 5 - How to Organise your Answer
In this lesson, we'll break down how to organise your answer when describe a process in writing task one.
Introduction
1. Firstly, like always, we need to paraphrase the topic given to us in the question.
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Question: The diagram below shows how electricity is produced using a wind turbine and how it is sent to people's homes.
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Paraphrased first sentence: The illustration details the process in which power is generated using wind energy in a turbine and is then transferred to consumer's houses.
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Have a look at this lesson if you want to review how to do this.
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2. Overview statement
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We will split this statement into two parts.
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a. How many stages are there?
In our example, I would split it into five steps
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1. Blades spin gearbox
2. Gearbox turns generator
3. Electricity transfers to transformer
4. High voltage energy is transported long distance
5. It's transformed back to low voltage
6. It's sent to people's homes.
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b. Is it natural or man-made.
In our example, this is a man made process.
We will start our summary sentence using this structure:
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This is a ___-step, natural/man-made process where...
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This is a five-step, man-made process where...
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After this, we will describe what happens in the process. However, we need to be careful not to repeat what we have said in our first sentence.
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rotational energy is converted to electricity for people to use.
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Altogether, our introduction paragraph looks like this:
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The illustration details the process in which power is generated using wind energy in a turbine and is then transferred to consumer's houses. This is a five-step, man-made process where rotational energy is converted to electricity, which voltage is changed to allow it to be transferred over a large distance for people to use.
Body paragraphs
As always I recommend splitting the bulk of the descriptions into two or more body paragraphs. Try to find one or two natural splits in the process, and describe each in its own paragraph. In our example, I would split the process into inside the turbine and outside the turbine.
Body 1 - How wind energy is transferred into electricity.
Body 2 - How the electricity is transferred to people's homes.
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You need to write 150 words. This gives you the amount of detail you need to add. If there is a lot of detail given in the diagram, you will need to choose what information to describe. If it is quite basic, you will need to describe every single detail that you can.
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As you describe each step of the process, remember to use a range of the following structures:
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Sequencers
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After present perfect, present simple.
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Before + Verb...ing
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Relative clauses
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Give purpose (to, for, with the aim of, so that)
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Passive voice (if not transitive verbs) and active voice
Model Answer
The illustration details the process in which power is generated using wind energy in a turbine and is then transferred to consumer's houses. This is a five-step, man-made process where rotational energy is converted to electricity for people to use.
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Large blades, which are attached to the front of a wind turbine, are designed to spin as the wind moves past them. Firstly, This movement turns a gearbox, with the aim of increasing the rotational speed. Unless a brake is applied, this energy is then transferred into a generator, which is used for converting kinetic energy into high-voltage electricity.
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The electricity is transferred out of the turbine in a cable before being increased in voltage in a transformer for long-distance transmission. After it has gotton to its required destination, a second transformer reduces the voltage back down. Following this, it is sent towards customers’ houses. The customers, who need 110 volts, receive this from a third smaller transformer, which is on a telegraph pole outside their house.