Listening flow charts: follow the process · Gráficos de flujo: seguir el proceso
A blurred copy sends the photograph back
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A process can loop after a failed check. Trace the chart before listening so a repeated step does not look like a new stage.
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IELTS Listening can ask you to complete a flow chart: boxes show stages of a process, and arrows show the direction. A blank may ask for a word from the recording or an option from a given list. Read the instructions first.
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Before the recording, trace the arrows with your finger. For each blank, predict a type of answer: a tool, a document, a material, or a problem to check. The speaker may explain why · por qué a step exists or correct a false start. Those extra sentences are useful context, but the chart still asks for the missing stage or detail.
The arrows have already done the walking. Your job is to keep up, not to interview each box.
What should you trace before a flow-chart recording begins? · ¿Qué debes trazar antes de que comience la grabación del gráfico de flujo?
The arrows show how the process develops. Predict the kind of answer each gap needs before listening. · Las flechas muestran cómo se desarrolla el proceso. Predecir qué tipo de respuesta necesita cada espacio antes de escuchar.
Read the route before you listen
Practice flow chart — NO MORE THAN TWO WORDS for each answer
Donated photographs arrive → assign an [1] → copy them with a [2] → check the copy for [3] → keep the originals in [4].
- Read the words around each blank. An suggests a singular noun phrase at [1]. With a suggests a piece of equipment at [2]. For · A favor points to a defect at [3]. In points to a container at [4].
- These are predictions, not answers. The recording decides the words. Check the stated word limit after you fill each gap.
In 'copy them with a [2]', what kind of answer is most likely? · En 'copy them with a [2]', ¿qué tipo de respuesta es la más probable?
'With a' suggests a singular tool or piece of equipment. The recording then supplies the exact words. · 'With a' sugiere una herramienta singular o un equipo. La grabación proporciona luego las palabras exactas.
Worked example from an original script
This written script is for strategy practice only. In the actual Listening test, you hear the recording once; the script is not on the question paper.
“When a donated box arrives, we give every photograph an accession code before making a copy. A volunteer writes the code on a removable tag, not on the photograph. Next we use a flatbed scanner. I used to think the copies could go straight into the database, but now a second volunteer checks them for blur. If one is blurred, we scan it again. Once the copies pass that check, we put the original photographs into acid-free sleeves and store them in the archive.”
- [1] accession code; [2] flatbed scanner; [3] blur; [4] acid-free sleeves. Each answer is taken from the script and fits its sentence.
- The removable tag and the database are tempting nouns, but neither fills the relevant stage. The return to the scanner is a repeat of a failed step, not a new stage after storage. The hyphenated acid-free counts as one word in IELTS's stated word-limit convention; acid-free sleeves fits a two-word limit.
Fill [1] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · Rellena [1] del guion escrito. Usa no más de dos palabras.
The code is assigned before copying; the removable tag is only where it is written. · El código se asigna antes de copiar; la etiqueta desmontable solo está donde se escribe.
Fill [2] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · Rellena [2] del guion escrito. Usa no más de dos palabras.
It is the equipment used to make the copy; the database is mentioned only as a rejected next destination. · Es el equipo utilizado para hacer la copia; la base de datos se menciona solo como un destino siguiente rechazado.
Fill [3] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · Rellena [3] del guion escrito. Usa no más de dos palabras.
The volunteer checks copies for blur; a blurred copy is scanned again. · El voluntario revisa las copias para detectar desenfoque; una copia desenfocada se escanea nuevamente.
Fill [4] from the written script. Use no more than two words. · Rellena [4] del guion escrito. Usa no más de dos palabras.
The originals go into acid-free sleeves. 'Acid-free' is one hyphenated word, so the full answer fits the limit. · Los originales van dentro de fundas libres de ácido. 'Libre de ácido' es una sola palabra con guion, por lo que la respuesta completa caben en el límite.
What to do when an answer slips past
- Follow the current arrow. The stages generally appear as the process is described; do not keep looking back at a blank you missed.
- Write a short note while listening. After that part ends, check spelling, grammar and the word limit. Do not add words merely to make the answer sound elegant.
- If the speaker corrects themself, use the final version. If the process loops back after an error, keep the chart's intended route in view.
- For a box whose answer comes from a list, choose the listed option that fits the stage; for a box requiring words from the recording, use the words you heard. Never mix those two instruction types.
- Source checked on 24 September 2026: official IELTS Listening format and flow-chart completion rules. The photograph process and script above are original teaching examples, not an official or voiced test set.
When a blurred copy is scanned again, the chart gains a new final stage after storage. · Cuando una copia desenfocada se escanea nuevamente, el gráfico gana una nueva etapa final después del almacenamiento.
Rescanning repeats the copy step after a failed check. It is not a new stage after originals are stored. · Reescanear repite el paso de copiar tras una revisión fallida. No es una nueva etapa después de que los originales están almacenados.
A failed check can send the process back
- In the photograph script, copies with blur return to scanning. Only copies that pass the check lead to storing originals in acid-free sleeves.
- The return arrow explains a retry, not a fifth answer after storage. Follow the main stages while noting which condition changes the route.
- The script is written teaching practice. The real listening task requires audio; the arrows cannot supply a word you never heard.
- Trace stages, use final information and check each answer against the instruction.
- Apply the distinction to the transfer check below. These are original teaching cases, not official items or band predictions.
Match the distinctions in this worked case.
The return arrow explains a retry, not a fifth answer after storage. Follow the main stages while noting which condition changes the route.
What happens when a copied photograph is blurred in the script?
In the photograph script, copies with blur return to scanning. Only copies that pass the check lead to storing originals in acid-free sleeves. The return arrow explains a retry, not a fifth answer after storage. Follow the main stages while noting which condition changes the route.