Task 1
You should spend about 20 minutes on this task.
The diagram below shows the stages involved in producing olive oil commercially, from harvesting the olives to bottling the finished oil.
Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.
Write at least 150 words.
Task 2
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Some governments are considering introducing a four-day working week for all employees, with no reduction in pay.
Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
What a Band 8–9 response must demonstrate
Measured against the four official assessment criteria — specific to this test's two tasks.
Task Achievement
- Gives a clear overview that states the number of stages (eight), the start and end points (harvested fruit to labelled bottles) and the broad shape of the process: preparation, extraction, then refining and storage.
- Reports all the stages in sequence without omitting the less obvious ones such as leaf removal or malaxation; a Band 8+ answer also notes the by-product (pomace) separated at stage 5.
- Includes the specific details that the diagram offers — the 24-hour delivery window, the 27°C limit, the 30–45 minute stirring, the 15–18°C storage — and uses them to show how strictly the process is controlled.
- Stays descriptive: no explanation of why cold pressing improves flavour, and no personal opinion about olive oil quality.
Coherence & Cohesion
- Organises the stages into two or three logical body paragraphs (e.g. stages 1–3 preparation and crushing; 4–5 extraction; 6–8 finishing) instead of one sentence per stage in a single block.
- Uses sequencing language that varies and does work — "once", "after which", "at this point", "the final stage" — rather than "then… then… then".
- Refers back to the product as it changes state (olives → paste → cloudy oil → clear oil) so that the reader can follow what is being handled at each step.
Lexical Resource
- Uses precise process vocabulary: harvested, stripped, ground into a paste, stirred, separated by centrifugal force, filtered, stored under nitrogen, bottled and labelled.
- Paraphrases the diagram labels where natural ("leaf removal" → "leaves and twigs are blown away") rather than copying every label verbatim.
- Distinguishes between by-products and the main product (pomace, water versus oil) with accurate collocations such as "removed as waste" and "drawn off".
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
- Uses the present simple passive consistently and accurately ("the olives are washed", "the paste is stirred"), switching to active only where the agent matters ("a centrifuge separates…").
- Controls complex sentences with time clauses and participles ("Having been crushed, the paste is…"; "before the oil is filtered, it…").
- Punctuates figures and units correctly (27°C, 30–45 minutes, 15–18°C) and keeps the majority of sentences error-free.
Task Response
- Answers the actual question — whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages — with a clear judgement stated in the introduction and sustained, not merely a list of pros and cons.
- Engages with the specific proposal: a universal four-day week with no pay cut. A strong essay considers who this suits (office work) and who it does not (hospitals, transport, small retailers).
- Develops each side with concrete reasoning, e.g. the evidence on productivity and staff retention versus the cost to employers and the risk of compressed ten-hour days.
- Weighs the two sides explicitly in the conclusion rather than ending with "there are both advantages and disadvantages".
Coherence & Cohesion
- A clear structure: introduction with position, one paragraph on benefits, one on drawbacks, and a conclusion that returns to the weighing — or a position-first structure that deals with drawbacks before the stronger benefits.
- Each body paragraph has a single controlling idea and a topic sentence; supporting sentences extend it rather than introducing unrelated points.
- Cohesion comes from logical sequencing and referencing ("this shift", "such a policy", "these sectors") rather than a mechanical linker opening every sentence.
Lexical Resource
- Uses precise work-related vocabulary: productivity, burnout, staff retention, compressed hours, operating costs, service sectors, work-life balance, legislation versus voluntary adoption.
- Paraphrases the prompt naturally ("four-day working week" → "a shorter working week", "a reduction in working days") without distorting its meaning.
- Less common collocations used accurately ("a blanket policy", "round-the-clock services", "absorb the cost", "take-up") and a consistently formal register.
Grammatical Range & Accuracy
- Handles conditionals and hypothetical language the topic demands ("If such a policy were imposed on hospitals…", "employers would have to…") accurately.
- Uses concession structures to weigh points ("Although the productivity gains are real, …", "While this is true of office work, …").
- Varies sentence length and type; comma use around subordinate clauses is correct and errors are rare and do not impede meaning.
Common traps for this specific test
The mistakes most likely to cost marks on these two questions.
Candidates often jump from crushing straight to separation because the stirring stage looks minor. It is a distinct step with its own figures (30–45 minutes, under 27°C) and omitting it means the process is reported incompletely, which limits Task Achievement.
Stage 5 produces two outputs: the oil that continues, and the pomace that leaves the process. A Band 7+ answer mentions what is removed, not only what goes forward.
A process diagram describes what routinely happens, so the present simple passive is the natural choice. "Farmers harvested the olives and then they crushed them" reads as a narrative, not a process description.
"There are eight stages" is not an overview on its own. Add the start and end products and the overall shape of the process (preparation → extraction → refining and storage).
Describing why low temperatures preserve flavour or what polyphenols are is irrelevant to Task 1 and spends words that should go on the diagram's information.
The prompt asks whether advantages outweigh disadvantages. Essays that simply list both sides, or that argue only about whether the policy is a good idea, do not answer the weighing question and are capped on Task Response.
These two details are what make the question hard. An essay about flexible working in offices misses the point; the strongest answers ask what happens to nurses, bus drivers and shop staff, and who pays for the fifth day.
"It depends on the company" is a reasonable observation but not a position. State clearly whether, on balance, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, and defend that view.