The diagram below shows the structure of a home smokery and how it is used.

Practice this IELTS Writing Task 1 question on IELTSX. The diagram below shows the structure of a home smokery and how it is used.

Home Smokery Structure How Used Diagram - IELTS Writing Task 1

You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Write at least 150 words.

IELTS Writing Task 1 chart for Home Smokery Structure How Used Diagram
Chart supplied with the IELTS Writing Task 1 question: Home Smokery Structure How Used Diagram

A student's answer to this task, and the feedback on it

Written by an IELTSX user under exam conditions and published unedited and anonymously. Band 7.5 ยท 243 words.

The diagram illustrates the structure of a home smokery and the process by which food is smoked using it.

Overall, the smokery consists of three main components, namely an air chamber, a fire chamber and a smoking box, which are connected underground by pipes. The process is linear, with air entering at one end and smoke being delivered to the food at the other.

The process begins at the first chamber, a vertical pit with an opening lid at ground level. When this lid is raised, fresh air flows in from the surface and descends to the bottom of the pit. From there, the air is channelled along an underground pipe leading towards the second chamber.

The second chamber is a deeper pit that is filled with logs and covered by its own lid. The incoming air feeds the fire burning at the base of this pit, causing the logs to burn and produce smoke. This smoke is then carried through a second, sloping pipe, which rises towards the third and final stage.

At this stage, the smoke emerges beneath a set of bricks positioned in a third pit, which appear to disperse it and prevent the flames or embers from reaching the food. The smoke then billows upwards into a tall box standing above ground level, where fish and cuts of meat are suspended from a rail near the top. As the smoke surrounds them, the food is gradually smoked and preserved.

Examiner feedback

This is a strong response with a clear, accurate overview and well-sequenced coverage of every stage of the smokery. Its main weaknesses are a minor factual imprecision, describing all components as 'connected underground' when the smoking box stands above ground, and a largely mechanical stage-by-stage recount with limited comparison of features.

Task Achievement - 7

- The overview is clear and accurate, identifying the three components and the linear air-to-smoke sequence. - All major stages are covered with relevant detail: the air intake, the fire chamber, the brick-screened third pit, and the smoking box with suspended food. - The response is largely a stage-by-stage description. It would be stronger with a few more explicit comparisons, such as the relative depths of the pits, or with a clearer explanation of the bricks' function, which is hedged with 'appear to'.

Coherence & Cohesion - 8

- Paragraphing is logical: overview, then the air intake, fire chamber, and smoke delivery, with the food stage tied to the final paragraph. - Sequencing is well managed through devices such as 'The process begins', 'From there', 'This smoke is then carried', and 'At this stage'. - Reference is handled well, though varying the subject of successive sentences more often would make the flow even more natural.

Lexical Resource - 8

- Vocabulary is precise and sophisticated, including 'channelled', 'billows', 'disperse', 'embers', and 'suspended from a rail'. - Word formation and spelling are accurate, with British forms such as 'channelled' used consistently. - Collocations are largely natural ('fire burning at the base', 'sloping pipe'), with occasional repetition of 'pit' and 'chamber' that could be varied with synonyms.

Grammatical Range & Accuracy - 8

- Structures are varied and flexible, including passives ('is filled with', 'are suspended'), participial clauses ('causing the logs to burn'), relative clauses, and a cleft-style contrast. - Most sentences are error-free, and tense use is consistent with the present-tense description of a process. - Punctuation is well controlled, with commas correctly marking embedded clauses and lists.

Related prompts

Start Practice