Placeholder Image

Subtitles section Play video

  • Hi there.

  • My name is Emma, and in today's video I am going to teach you about how to write

  • about processes.

  • So, if you are taking the IELTS, this video is very important for writing task 1.

  • If you're not taking the IELTS, you can learn a lot in this video, because we will be covering

  • some very important grammar and some very important vocabulary that you can use in your

  • everyday life also. Okay?

  • So, if you're taking the IELTS, this video is great for you; and if you're not taking

  • the IELTS, this video is also very good for you.

  • Okay, so first of all: What is a process?

  • Okay, well, so, if you are doing the IELTS, there are two different writing components:

  • task 1 and task 2.

  • Sometimes you will get some pictures and you have to write about them on the IELTS.

  • So, these pictures show a process.

  • So, a process is pretty much showing different stages or steps on how something is made,

  • or how something works, or how it's created or produced.

  • Okay?

  • So, the key thing here is that you're looking at different stages on how something is made,

  • created, or produced.

  • Processes can be natural or they can be man-made.

  • So, for natural, if you can imagine in science you might learn about how photosynthesis works

  • with plants. Okay?

  • You might learn about how mushrooms grow. Okay?

  • How animals mate.

  • These are all processes.

  • In terms of man-made, an example of a process would be how concrete is made, or even how

  • chocolate is created and produced.

  • Okay?

  • So, on the IELTS, you might, because there are different versions of the test...

  • You may have to look at some pictures and describe a process, and describe what is happening

  • in this picture.

  • So, I've drawn a very simple process-okay?-and this is the process of taking the IELTS.

  • Okay?

  • So, in my picture, I have a student here, and they're at their computer studying different

  • videos and different things to help them prepare for the IELTS.

  • So, this is my first stage or my first step.

  • The second step in my process is actually taking the IELTS, and the final step is the

  • student looking very happy, saying: "I got a great score."

  • Okay?

  • Because they studied a lot and they practiced a lot.

  • So, on the IELTS, you will not get something like this that's this simple.

  • It'd be great if you did, but usually the processes are more complicated.

  • They're more complex.

  • You might have 10 pictures of something like how to make coffee.

  • But the key here is you will see a bunch of pictures, and you need to figure out where

  • the pictures start and where they finish.

  • What is the final product?

  • Okay?

  • So in this case, the beginning is watching this video, and the end is getting a high

  • score on the IELTS.

  • Okay?

  • In making coffee, maybe the first process is getting the beans.

  • Maybe the last process is actually drinking a cup of coffee. Okay?

  • So it's good when you see a diagram to figure out: Where's the beginning, and where's the end?

  • And also thinking about: Is it natural or a man-made process?

  • Okay, so if you are taking the IELTS and you get a bunch of pictures in the writing section,

  • a couple key things here.

  • You will have to write 150 words where you describe the pictures.

  • Okay?

  • And you have 20 minutes to do this.

  • So, what you pretty much need to do is summarize what is happening in the picture.

  • So, you're just reporting the main features, you're summarizing what you see.

  • You are not giving your opinion.

  • Okay?

  • You do not say what you think about the process.

  • All you need to do on the IELTS is say what you see and describe it.

  • Okay?

  • You're also not adding information.

  • If you know about, for example, how to make a cup of coffee and you have to describe this

  • process, maybe you have a lot of information you know about this.

  • But if you don't see it in the pictures, you don't write about it.

  • Okay?

  • So, in this video, I am going to teach you about sequencers, which can really help your

  • mark; as well as grammar, the passive voice, which is something we use a lot when we are

  • describing processes.

  • So, let's look at those features now.

  • Okay. So, in this video, I'm not going to tell you about how to write your introduction, but

  • I just wanted to be clear: It's very important that you have about maybe two sentences to

  • introduce what the process is.

  • In your introduction, you can talk about how many steps or stages there are, and you can

  • also say what the image, or the diagram, or the illustration is showing.

  • What is the process?

  • One really important thing that you should include when you're describing a process,

  • whether you're writing the IELTS or just in general, is you should include sequencers.

  • Sequencers help us understand the order of something.

  • So, it helps us understand what is first, second, third, fourth, and so on.

  • So, you know which...

  • The different stages.

  • So, we have here a bunch of sequencers.

  • Okay?

  • And I also have here...

  • Can you guess what this is?

  • This is a sandwich.

  • Okay?

  • I'm not the best artist, so I apologize, but here is my picture of a sandwich.

  • So, I'm going to describe how to make a sandwich using these sequencers.

  • Okay?

  • So: "First of all," is a great one to use at the beginning.

  • This is great on the IELTS, or also: "The first step" or "The first stage is..."

  • These are great to begin with-okay?-when you're describing a process.

  • So, I could say: "First of all, we take a bun or a slice of bread."

  • Okay? So this is bread.

  • "First of all, we take a slice of bread.", "The first step is we take a slice of bread.",

  • "The first stage is we take a slice of bread."

  • We can use the word "step" or "stage" when we're describing a process.

  • Okay: "Next", this is another sequencer.

  • "Next, we put down the pickles on top of the bun", if you like pickles.

  • If you don't like pickles, you don't put them on.

  • But in this case, in this sandwich, we put the pickles on the bun.

  • "Then, we put the meat on top of the pickles.

  • After that, we put some lettuce on top of the meat."

  • We can also say: "In the next stage" or "In the next step", that's also possible.

  • Okay.

  • "Next, we add tomatoes.

  • Finally, we add the top slice of bread, and then we have our sandwich."

  • Or I can say: "In the final step, we add a slice of bread.",

  • "In the final stage, we add a slice of bread." Okay?

  • Before we have finished making our sandwich, maybe we can put...

  • Oh, well, I guess that doesn't work.

  • Maybe we can put something on top, like an olive.

  • Okay?

  • "After we finish making our sandwich, we can eat in and enjoy it."

  • Okay.

  • Or I could say: "Once we've finished making our sandwich", and notice the "ing", "making".

  • "Once we finished making our sandwich, we can enjoy it."

  • Okay? So, these are called sequencers, and they're very good to use when you're describing a process.

  • So, if you're taking the IELTS, this will help you with your organization mark.

  • Okay? So, very, very important that you use some of these.

  • You don't have to use all of them, but you should be using some of them when you describe a process.

  • Next, let's look at the grammar of describing a process.

  • Okay, so when you are describing a process it's very, very important to use the passive

  • voice.

  • Okay?

  • You can use other verb tenses, too, but the most common is going to be the passive voice.

  • So, what is the passive voice?

  • Okay.

  • So, I have here two...

  • Sorry.

  • I have here two sentences.

  • One of them is called the passive voice, the other one is the active voice.

  • My two sentences are: "I make a cup of tea." and "A cup of tea is made."

  • Now, I want you to look at these two sentences.

  • What are some of the differences between them?

  • Well, one thing you might notice is this has "I" in it.

  • "I make a cup of tea."

  • Whereas this one, we don't actually know who made the cup of tea.

  • So, you'll notice that when...

  • This is active, by the way, and this is passive.

  • In the active voice, the person is not important.

  • Okay?

  • The person doing the action isn't...

  • Oh, sorry.

  • The opposite, sorry.

  • In the active voice, the person is important.

  • "I make a cup of tea."

  • Who made the cup of tea?

  • I made the cup of tea.

  • Now, this is very different from the passive voice, where we don't actually know who made

  • the cup of tea; or if we do know, it's not important who made the cup of tea.

  • Okay?

  • So that's one major difference.

  • You'll also notice with the verb.

  • The verb themself-...

  • The verbs themselves are different, too.

  • Here, we have the simple present: "I make", whereas if you look down here,

  • we have: "is" and "made".

  • So, when we use the active voice, we're just using, you know, simple present, simple past.

  • We can pretty much use any tense.

  • But you'll notice, there is no "be" verb.

  • Whereas, here: "A cup of tea is", we have the "be" verb, and "made", we have a past participle.

  • So, the construction of the two sentences is different.

  • Okay?

  • So, if you're wondering what the rule is: For the passive, we have an object.

  • In this case our object is "a cup of tea".

  • We have the "be" verb, so in this case, "is" is the "be" verb.

  • It can also be: "was" or "has been", or "will be".

  • When I say: "'be' verb", it's a form of the verb "be"-okay?-depending on what tense you're

  • talking in.

  • So, usually for processes...

  • If you're, like, getting really nervous or confused by this grammar, key here is the

  • word "is" if you're talking about now, or "was" if you're talking about in the past.

  • Okay?

  • So, on the IELTS, usually "is" and "was" is the main things to know.

  • So, you have the object, the "be" verb, and the past participle.

  • So, the past participle in this case is "made".

  • Okay?

  • So, "made" is the past participle of "make".

  • So, let's think of another example.

  • Imagine I...

  • Well, this is true.

  • I had a bike, and I really loved my bike.

  • Someone stole my bike.

  • Okay? Very sad, but someone stole my bike.

  • So: "Someone stole my bike."

  • That's active.

  • If I want to change this into the passive, we don't know who did it, and what's really

  • important to me is the fact that the bike was stolen.

  • So, the passive would be: "My bike"-which is the object-"was stolen".

  • "Stolen" is the past participle of "steal".

  • Okay?

  • So, we're going to do a lot of practice with this.

  • So, don't worry if, you know, you're really confused by the passive.

  • We're going to do some more practice questions with this.

  • But the key point here is when you're describing a process, it's very, very good to use the

  • passive voice, not the active voice, because you're usually...

  • What's usually important is what's happening, not who's doing it. Usually.

  • Okay, so I want you to imagine...

  • So we're going to do some practice now.

  • I want you to imagine you want to tell someone how to make a cup of tea.

  • Okay?

  • I love drinking tea, so I think this is a great example of a process.

  • So, the kettle is what you put the water in, and you boil.

  • Okay?

  • So the kettle is where the water goes.

  • So, if we wanted to describe the process of making a cup of tea, we might start with the kettle.

  • What do we do with the kettle?

  • Well, we fill it with cold water.

  • Okay?

  • So, we put cold water into the kettle.

  • Now, how could we make this into the passive voice?

  • What's a passive voice sentence we could use?

  • "The kettle __________ with cold water."

  • Well, the first thing we know is we need to have our "be" verb somewhere.

  • And we're talking about the present, we're talking about a process that still happens today.

  • So, let's put: "The kettle is", so we have our "be" verb, and now we need a past participle.

  • Let's say the kettle...

  • We fill a kettle, so what's the past participle of "fill"?

  • "Filled".

  • So, we can say: "The kettle is filled with cold water."

  • First step.

  • If I wanted to add a sequencer here, that would make the sentence even better.

  • I could say: "The first step is where the kettle is filled with cold water."

  • Or: "First of all, the kettle is filled with cold water."

  • Okay, what's the second step?

  • Well...

  • "The kettle __________ on the stove top."

  • Okay?

  • What do you think we do with a kettle?

  • We would put the kettle on the stove.

  • So, if we wanted to put that in the passive voice, again we need our "be" verb, so we'll put "is",

  • and then we can put a verb here in the past participle.

  • "The kettle is put on the stove." or "The kettle is placed on the stove."

  • We can also say that.

  • Okay.

  • So these are both par-...

  • Past participles.

  • Now, what about if, you know, we were using many kettles at the same time?

  • And so, we had an "s" here, and we were talking about many kettles.

  • Would this still stay as "is"?

  • No.

  • When we're talking about plural, "kettles" has an "s" and it's plural, so this would

  • actually turn into "are": "The kettles are put on the stove top."

  • "The kettle"-because there's only one-"is filled with cold water."

  • Okay, so what's another step in the making of tea?

  • In this case: "A cup and teabag __________ from the cupboard."

  • So, I take a cup and a teabag from the cupboard.

  • So, how can I make this into the passive voice?

  • Well, "A cup and teabag"...

  • So how many things do we have here?

  • We have a cup and a teabag, so that's two, so we would use the verb "are".

  • So, they are "taken from the cupboard".

  • We take the cup and the teabag from the cupboard.

  • "The cup and teabag are taken from the cupboard."

  • So, again, we have our "be" verb and our past participle.

  • In terms of past participles, these are things you just need to memorize.

  • Logically, sometimes, you know...

  • Sometimes you'll see "ed", sometimes you'll see "en", so they have different endings.

  • So the best thing to do is find a past participle list, and memorize it for the words that you use a lot.

  • Like "take".

  • "Take" is a common word. "Taken", that's the past participle.

  • Okay.

  • So, there are many more stages to making a cup of tea, but we're going to end in the

  • middle of making the tea.

  • So, this is our last stage we're going to talk about.

  • "Once the water boils, it is poured into a cup."

  • So, we can use this in the past participle: "is boiled".

  • "Once the water is boiled, it is poured into a cup."

  • Okay.

  • So, this is not the final stage.

  • In the final stage, we drink the tea.

  • Okay?

  • So, again, very important to use this type of grammar when you're writing about processes,

  • especially on the IELTS because they want to see that you are...

  • You know different types of grammar.

  • You have a range of grammar.

  • Okay?

  • And so this can help show the range of grammar, and that you know the appropriate grammar

  • to use when you are describing a process.

  • So, let's look at one other tip on how to do processes.

  • Okay, so, so far I have talked about sequencers and the grammar of writing about processes.

  • Now, I want to talk a little bit about the IELTS, and something you really shouldn't

  • do when you write the IELTS, especially...

  • Well, with processes or anything, but here is an example of a question on the IELTS that

  • has to do with processes.

  • Now, here in this question you don't actually see a diagram, but usually there would be

  • images or a diagram of a process.

  • So, the question is: "The diagram below shows the process of making a cup of tea.

  • Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features."

  • So, this is the type of question you'll get.

  • Okay?

  • It might be: "The diagram below shows photosynthesis" or "The diagram below shows how concrete is made."

  • Okay? So, it might be man-made, it might be natural.

  • Now, what a lot of students do is they see this, and they decide to write their introduction,

  • and they copy the words from here into their introduction.

  • So they read this, and then they start their answer with:

  • "The diagram below shows the process of making a cup of tea."

  • You should not copy the question words.

  • Okay? It's very important that you paraphrase, that you use your own words in your first sentence.

  • So, if this was the question I had, a couple things I might do is, instead of using the

  • word "diagram", I might use the word: "illustration", or "image", "images". Okay?

  • And instead of using the word "shows", I'd use a different verb.

  • So, instead of: "The diagram shows", I would say: "The illustration demonstrates"

  • or "The diagram illustrates". Okay?

  • So, it's good to change the language, and this is one of the easier ways to do it, is

  • change the verb.

  • If they use "show", use "demonstrates" or "illustrates".

  • Okay?

  • And if you can, instead of the word "diagram", use the word "illustration" or "images".

  • Okay?

  • Another thing a lot of students do is they would copy the rest of it:

  • "The process of making a cup of tea".

  • You can also change this around.

  • So, in my example, I put: "The diagram illustrates how a cup of tea is made."

  • So, I've changed it from the active voice to the passive voice.

  • You don't have to do that.

  • My main point here is: Don't copy the instructions.

  • Use your own words in your introduction.

  • Okay?

  • Another tip that's very important when you're describing processes is:

  • Take a couple of minutes to actually look at what's happening.

  • A lot of students, they start writing, but they don't actually understand the pictures

  • they're looking at.

  • So, take a moment to figure out: Where does the process start, what happens,

  • and where does it end?

  • What is the final product?

  • How many stages are there?

  • How many steps?

  • Okay?

  • So it's important to ask yourself some questions before you start writing to make sure you

  • really understand what the pictures are showing you, and what the illustration is showing you.

  • So, I hope you've enjoyed this video.

  • I know the IELTS, for a lot of students, is very stressful and scary thing.

  • So, I'd like to invite you to come

  • visit our website at www.engvid.com,

  • and there you can

  • do a quiz to practice what we've talked about in this video, as well as there's other videos

  • on IELTS and on English in general.

  • So, I highly recommend that you come visit our website and check those out.

  • Until next time, take care and good luck.

Hi there.

Subtitles and vocabulary

Click the word to look it up Click the word to find further inforamtion about it