Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-09

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 6.0)

The diagram illustrates the manufacturing process for making sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, the process is linear with 7 steps, beginning with growing sugar canes and ends with drying and cooling the sugar.

Firstly, growing the sugar canes for 12-18 months until it reaches the required maturity. And then, harvesting them manually or by using some tractors to make the job easier. Afterwards, crushing the canes into a machine to make some juice in it. The juice from the sugar canes will undergo purification using a limestone filter before being evaporated to convert the juice into syrup using heat. The sugar crystals will then be separated from its syrup using a cyclical centrifuge. Finally, drying and cooling the sugar will be the final steps and will be put into a big cylindrical container.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You identify the process as having seven stages and give a relevant overview from cane growing to the final drying and cooling. The account also includes the 12–18-month growing period, both harvesting methods, and the main transformations from juice to syrup and then sugar crystals. These details show good coverage, although some stages are less fully described: for example, the final cylinder is presented as where the sugar is put, rather than clearly describing the drying-and-cooling stage itself. The response is also below the required 150 words: it contains 124 words, with nine words copied from the prompt excluded from the count. To strengthen the report, add precise details about the crushing output and the centrifuge’s separation of crystals from syrup, while avoiding unsupported additions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the process in the correct order, and the overview clearly identifies its start and end points. Sequencing expressions such as “Firstly,” “And then,” “Afterwards,” and “Finally” help the reader follow the stages. However, the body is presented as one long paragraph, and the repeated use of simple time markers makes the progression somewhat mechanical. The opening fragment, “And then, harvesting them…,” also interrupts the flow from the preceding sentence. Organise the report into a brief introduction and overview followed by a clearly developed process paragraph, and vary the links by showing relationships between stages—for example, that the juice produced by crushing is then purified and heated.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “manufacturing process,” “purification,” “limestone filter,” “evaporated,” “syrup,” and “centrifuge.” These terms make the stages understandable and show some precision beyond basic vocabulary. Some choices are less natural or precise, however: “using some tractors” is vague for the mechanical harvesting method, “make some juice in it” is awkward, and “cyclical centrifuge” does not clearly describe the machine’s function. “Big cylindrical container” also adds a detail that is not needed to report the process. Aim for concise, conventional process language, such as “mechanically,” “extract the juice,” and “separate the sugar crystals from the remaining syrup.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts a mixture of sentence forms, including a passive construction in “will undergo purification” and a longer sequence describing the later stages. Meaning is generally clear, but some sentence structures and verb forms are inaccurate. “Firstly, growing the sugar canes…” is a fragment, and “And then, harvesting them…” is another incomplete sentence; combine these with a main clause. In “until it reaches the required maturity,” the pronoun does not agree clearly with plural “sugar canes.” The final sentence, “Finally, drying and cooling the sugar will be the final steps and will be put…,” also has an unclear subject and mismatched structure. Use complete clauses and check agreement and parallel construction when describing each stage.

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