Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows the manufacturing process for making sugar from sugar cane.

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

How sugar is produced from sugar cane

Student answer (Band 7.0)

The diagram illustrates the manufacturing process of sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, sugar is made by crushing sugar cane into sugar cane juice and then refining it. Filteration, evaporation are used to create a syrup which is centrifuged to get sugar crystal out of it.

Sugar canes take around 12 to 18 months to fully mature for harvest. Trucks are used to harvest the sugar canes whereas some farms still manually harvest it. After harvesting the sugar canes, it is put inside a crushing machine which crushes the sugar cane into juice. This juice is then purified using a limestone filter. Then the filtered juice is heated up to a point where juice becomes syrup. This heating process is called evaporation. Lastly, a process called centrifuge is used to extract the sugar crystals from the syrup. Finally the sugar crystals are dried and cooled inside a container. After some time the sugar is ready to be shipped for selling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response gives a clear account of the main sequence, from cane growth and harvesting through crushing, purification, evaporation, centrifuging, and drying and cooling. The overview identifies the central transformation from cane to juice and then syrup and sugar, while the 12–18-month growing period and the two harvesting methods are relevant details. Most stages are accurately described. However, the final claim that the sugar is ready to be shipped for selling is not shown in the diagram, so it introduces an unsupported outcome. The overview could also more explicitly summarise the process as a whole, including its start with growing cane and finish with drying and cooling. Overall, the key features are covered and developed clearly, with a small lapse in factual selection.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised effectively into an introduction, an overview, and a chronological description of the stages. Sequencing expressions such as “After harvesting,” “Then,” “Lastly,” and “Finally” make the process easy to follow, and the progression from raw cane to the finished crystals is clear. The overview also helps orient the reader before the detailed account. Some linking is a little repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “then” and “finally,” and the final sentence about shipping disrupts the otherwise diagram-based progression. More varied transitions and clearer grouping of the initial agricultural stages versus the processing stages would make cohesion more flexible and less reliant on sequencing words.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The vocabulary is adequate for describing this process, with relevant terms such as “limestone filter,” “evaporation,” “syrup,” and “centrifuge.” The writer also uses process language such as “extract” and “purified,” which helps convey the stages precisely. However, some choices are inaccurate or awkward: “Filteration” is misspelled, “sugar cane juice” is repeated, and “get sugar crystal out of it” is less natural than a more precise description of separation. “Trucks” is also not the equipment shown; the diagram depicts a mechanical harvester. These issues do not prevent understanding, but greater accuracy in word choice, spelling, and collocation would provide more flexibility and precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and more developed sentence forms, including the relative clause in “a point where juice becomes syrup” and the passive construction “is then purified.” Most stages are expressed clearly, and errors rarely obstruct the meaning. Some grammatical control is inconsistent, however. In “After harvesting the sugar canes, it is put inside a crushing machine,” the pronoun does not agree clearly with the plural “sugar canes”; “they are” or “the cane is” would be more consistent. Articles are also missing in “where juice becomes syrup” and “to extract the sugar crystals from the syrup” is more accurate than “get the sugar crystal out of it.” More consistent article use and reference would strengthen accuracy.

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