Life Cycle of the Silkworm IELTS

The diagrams below show the life cycle of the silkworm and the stages in the production of silk cloth.

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

This essay question is from Cambridge IELTS 6 Test 3 Writing Task 1.

Life cycle of the silkworm

the diagrams below show the life cycle of the silkworm and the stages in the production of silk cloth

Sample Essay

The diagrams display the life cycle of the silkworm and how silkworm cocoons are used to make silk cloth.

Overall, there are four main stages in the life cycle — egg, larva, cocoon, and adult moth — and six in silk cloth production — selecting, boiling, unwinding, twisting, weaving, and dyeing.

The life cycle begins when female moths lay eggs. After around 10 days, the eggs hatch, and silkworm larvae emerge. The larvae feed on mulberry leaves for about 4 to 6 weeks and then start to create protective layers called cocoons by spinning a single strand of silk around themselves. It takes them approximately 3 to 8 days to produce enough silk to surround their whole body. They stay in the cocoons for about 16 days to transform into adult moths. After the female moths lay eggs, the life cycle begins again.

To produce silk cloth, silkworm cocoons are first selected. Those found suitable for production are subsequently boiled in water before being unwound into strands of silk that measure about 300 to 900 meters long. From here, they are twisted to form thicker silk threads. Some of the threads go straight to the dyeing process, while the others are woven into cloth, which is then dyed. (202 Words)

Silk Thread

  • The more common meaning of “thread” is something that is twisted from more than one fiber. Silk is a fiber. Individual silk fibers are very very thin. You cannot use single silk fibers for weaving or anything else. They have to be twisted into a thread to be usable. Many, many silk fibers join together to form a thread. The thing in Step 3 is not a thread of silk. It would be much more accurate to refer to it as a strand of silk. Many strands of silk are twisted together to form a thread of silk, as shown in Step 4. And then silk threads are woven into cloth, as shown in Step 5. Yes, IELTS is a language test, not a knowledge test. But it’s very hard to write an accurate description of the last four steps without knowing the difference between “thread” and “strand”.
production of silk cloth
  • The same is true of Stage 4 in the life cycle. That is just one single strand of silk, not a thread of silk. As I explained, the more common meaning of a thread is something that is twisted from more than one fiber.
silk strand

Cloth, Not Clothes

Be careful that the second diagram shows the production of silk cloth, not silk clothes. Here, “cloth” is an uncountable noun, meaning a type of woven material, not the clothes we wear.

How to Write the Overview

Please don’t say that the life cycle of the silkworm is a natural process and the production of silk cloth is a man-made process. There’s no need to mention ‘natural’ and ‘man-made.’ It’s obvious. If it’s a life cycle, it’s natural. If it’s a production process, it’s man-made. Will you say that the life cycle of a human being is a natural process and that a sentence you write is a human-written sentence?
Also, it’s not enough to summarize only the first and last steps. Please read the examiner’s comment on page 133 of Cambridge IELTS 16.
  • Overall, the life cycle is a natural process that consists of four main stages, beginning with the laying of eggs and ending with adult moths emerging from cocoons. The production of silk cloth is a man-made process that comprises six main steps, beginning with selecting silkworm cocoons and ending with dyeing silk cloth.
  • Overall, there are four main stages in the life cycle — egg, larva, cocoon, and adult moth — and six in silk cloth production—selecting, boiling, unwinding, twisting, weaving, and dyeing.

11 CommentsLeave A Comment

  1. Hi Lilie! Thank you for your sample essay. But I have one question. Why is it insufficient to write about the first and last stage of the process in overall paragraph? In some youtube videos it is said that you should not list all stages.

    Reply

    1. Hi, thanks for your comments. It’s insufficient because an examiner says so on Page 133 of Cambridge IELTS 16. I made a Youtube video about it. You can watch it here.

      Reply

  4. Please tell me, if at a moment we don’t know exactly about the process means you use word hatch, female, and adult moth, how can manage the life cycle. One more thing is that strand word how this word is come in your mind to use?. Means Exactly I want to know, without exact how can write better task. Please respond me

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your question. You can use “hatch”, “female” and “adults” to describe almost every life cycle. For example, you can use them to describe the life cycle of the salmon: “after salmon eggs hatch…”, “female salmon”, “adult salmon”, etc.

      I didn’t know the word “strand”. I originally just used “thread” where I should have used “strand”. A couple of native speakers explained to me the difference between “strand” and “thread”.

      Learning is a continuous process. Be patient and persistent.✊✊✊

      Reply

  5. The process diagrams illustrate the biological cycle of silkworms and the steps involved in the manufacture of silk cloth. Overall, it can be seen that while the lifecycle of the silk worm involves four stages from egg to adult hood, however, it doesn’t mature fully before producing silk thread for the production of silk cloth.

    To begin, the lifecycle of silk worms involves four stages. The adult lays many eggs on a mulberry leaf, it hatches after 10 days into a larva which houses and feeds on the same leaf. After about 3-4 weeks, it will begin silk secretion forming a ball of silk thread which it wounds round the body for 3-8 weeks and it is called a cocoon when it is fully covered. It remains within the cocoon where it is housed and protected for about 16days . Thereafter, it emerges from the cocoon as an adult called moth and the cycle begins again.

    Furthermore, the ball of silk left behind is utilized by man to manufacture silk cloth. Firstly, they will be selected and later boiled in pot of water. Thereafter, the thread is unwinded to long lengths ranging from 300 to 900 metres, after which they are either twisted or weaved before the application of dye to realize the desired colour.

    Reply

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