IELTS task 1 writing: The process of making ethanol.

Updated: May 2026

This task is from the Cambridge IELTS 19 book. This is a cyclical diagram as the CO2 goes back into the process. You can purchase the latest Cambridge IELTS practice book online. I recommend it for home practice.

The best structure to use.

As with all writing task 1 reports, you need an introduction (paraphrase the task) an overview, which briefly covers the main stages, and two main body paragraphs. You don’t need to write a conclusion in task one. In terms of word count, aim for 150 to 190 words, 200 words or more is far too much.

You can also combine the overview with the same paragraph as the introduction, which means you can have 3 main body paragraphs in some cases.

 

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The task

 

Source: Cambridge IELTS 19 page 75.

 

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Model Answer

The diagram illustrates the way in which a biofuel called ethanol is created. Overall there are three main stages: harvesting plants and trees, creating cellulose, and adding microbes to sugars to produce ethanol.

In the first stage, plants and trees which have absorbed sunlight and carbon dioxide, are cut down and harvested by tractor. Following this, the fragments are sent to a pre-processing machine which creates strands of cellulose. Once the strands have been created, they are then processed with chemicals where they break down into sugars.

In terms of making ethanol and CO2, as soon as the sugars from the processing stage have been formed, microbes are added in order to make ethanol on a large scale. This biofuel is then ready to be used in cars, trucks, and aeroplanes, which in turn emits carbon dioxide and this then goes back into the atmosphere where the process repeats itself.

152 words

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