A process description needs to guide the reader through what is shown. Adding a plausible stage from your own knowledge can make the account less faithful to the diagram.
The process-diagram chapter in Achieve Band 9 in IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 discusses sequence, branching and passive forms. This original exercise isolates those decisions without requiring specialist manufacturing knowledge.
Trace the path before writing
Find the starting point, endpoint and arrows. If a stage divides into two routes, note where they separate and whether they rejoin. Do not turn simultaneous actions into consecutive steps simply because you describe one first.
Invented process for language practice
Blank cards are cut. They then move to two stations: one prints the front, while the other prepares envelopes. Printed cards and envelopes are paired, packed and sent out.
Choose a grammatical subject that fits
“The cards are cut” focuses on the material receiving the action. “A machine cuts the cards” focuses on the machine, if it is shown and relevant. Passive voice is a useful option, not a reason to force every sentence into the same pattern.
Identify the unsupported addition
Draft: “The cards are cut, chemically treated and printed.”
Problem: The invented description does not include chemical treatment.
Correction: Remove that stage and preserve the sequence actually supplied.
Use sequence words with care
“Next” signals a following stage. “Meanwhile” can introduce a parallel action. In the example, envelope preparation happens alongside printing, so “meanwhile” can express that relationship more accurately than suggesting that it happens only after printing finishes.
Finally, check every action against the supplied information. Include numbers or conditions when the diagram gives them; do not assume processes never contain numerical detail. A precise description follows the evidence, including any limits to what is shown.
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Source: IELTS TASK 1 WR 01.epub, Jobins Training. Examples labelled original or illustrative were written for this article. Independent exam preparation; no affiliation with or endorsement by the examining body. Practice does not predict an official score.