Writing · Free lesson
IELTS Academic Writing: describe process steps in the right order
IELTS Academic Task 1 can ask you to describe a process. Start by tracking what happens first and what follows. Our original crate-cleaning example practices that small skill.
Professor Scott MendozaThe short answer
Follow the process, not the order of words in your sentence. If washing comes before drying, “The crates are washed before they are dried” and “After the crates are washed, they are dried” both preserve that order.
Let the supplied sequence control your connectors.
First trace the stages: inspect → wash → dry → stack. Before puts one event earlier than another; after puts it later. Check the relationship each connector creates. Do not add a temperature, machine, purpose, or extra stage that the source never gives.
One sequence, two sentence patterns
Inspect → wash → dry → stack
The crates are washed before they are dried.
After the crates are washed, they are dried.
“The crates are dried before they are washed” reverses the supplied middle steps. Fluent grammar cannot fix an inaccurate sequence.
Check the event order
Locate the two stages
wash → dry
Read the connector relationship
washed BEFORE dried / dried AFTER washed
Try it now
Keep the process accurate
Read all answers and explanations
Sequence: wash → dry. Which sentence preserves it?
The crates are washed before they are dried.Washing is earlier than drying. The other two choices put drying first.
Sequence: dry → stack. Choose an accurate sentence beginning with After.
After the crates are dried, they are stacked.The drying happens first, followed by stacking. The other choices reverse a supplied relationship.
Given only inspect → wash → dry → stack, which description avoids adding unsupported details?
The crates are inspected before they are washed.The sequence supports inspection before washing. It gives neither a temperature nor a duration.
Put it into practice
Repair the reversed step
Use wash → dry → stack. Keep the facts and write one accurate sentence about drying and stacking.
The crates are stacked before they are dried.
See a model answer
The crates are stacked after they are dried.
Changing before to after repairs the relationship without inventing information.
A little more clarity
Common questions
A few useful details before you move on.
Must every process sentence be passive?
No. Choose a structure that accurately describes the supplied process. Passive forms are useful when the action on a thing matters more than the actor.
The crates are washed.
Does the first event mentioned always happen first?
No. Connectors can place it later. Read the time relationship rather than following sentence order mechanically.
The crates are stacked after they are dried.
Take it into your day
Accurate sequence comes first; varied wording comes after it.
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The English Grammar and English Speaking Master Course develops broader grammar, sentence-building, and communication foundations. Grammar and sentence-building practice helps you connect events clearly. The dedicated exam course is coming soon; the available main course is not a complete exam-preparation program.
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