Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-06

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

cambridge ielts writing task 2 sample answers

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The flow chart demonstrates the manufacturing process for making sugar through the sugar cane.

It can be seen that, there are seven steps involved in this process for making the sugar. Firstly, growing of sugar cane taking too many time like 12 to 18 months after this period, sugar cane fully grew its time for harvesting farmers plays a major role in it. Crushing in which the sugar cane gathered and going into the machine then sugar juice collected. Purifying the juice through the limestone filter after that purified juice poured into the tanker for heating process in which high temperature made the juice syrup. Next process was centrifuge in which the sugar crystals were separated from the syrup. Last but not least, drying and cooling process in which the crystals were aried and cooled in heavily cold temperate that's how the sugar made from the sugar cane.

Finally, the manufacturing of sugar is take the seven steps that i discuss above from the sugar cane.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the process as having seven stages and include several key details, including the 12–18-month growing period, crushing, limestone filtration, evaporation, centrifuging, and drying and cooling. However, the task is only partly covered: there is no clear overview of the process as a whole, and the harvesting stage is reduced to a vague comment that “farmers plays a major role,” without mentioning that harvesting can be mechanical or manual. Some details are also unclear or unsupported, such as the juice being poured into a “tanker” and the crystals being cooled in a “heavily cold” environment. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview of the sequence and describe each stage accurately, including the two harvesting methods.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the general order of the diagram, and signposts such as “Firstly,” “Next process,” and “Last but not least” help the reader track the stages. The opening and closing sentences also frame the description as a process. However, most of the stages are compressed into one long paragraph, with several ideas joined by commas or run together, so the progression is not always easy to follow. The final sentence repeats the point that there are seven steps rather than adding a useful summary. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the stage-by-stage account, and make the links between stages clearer with accurate references such as “the resulting juice” and “the syrup.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “limestone filter,” “centrifuge,” “sugar crystals,” and “syrup,” which helps convey the main stages. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural, sometimes making the process harder to understand. For example, “through the sugar cane” is not a natural way to describe the source, “tanker” is not shown in the diagram, and “heavily cold temperate” does not clearly express cooling. There is also a spelling error in “aried.” Aim for precise process language and check collocations and word forms. For instance, describe the juice as being heated until it becomes syrup, then say the crystals are dried and cooled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to describe a sequence using both simple statements and longer clauses, but control is uneven, and many sentences contain errors that make the relationships between ideas difficult to follow. Examples include “there are seven steps involved” after a comma, “sugar cane taking too many time,” and “the manufacturing of sugar is take the seven steps.” Verb forms, articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries need particular attention. The long middle section also joins several complete ideas without clear punctuation, while “farmers plays” shows a subject–verb agreement problem. Practise writing one clear sentence for each stage, using consistent present simple or passive forms, such as “The cane is crushed, and the juice is collected.”

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.