Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 5.5)

The diagram demonstrates the production process for making sugar from sugar cane. There are numerous steps towards making sugar from sugar cane.

To start, sugar canes have been grown for atleast 12-18 months.Then, these are harvested by machine and also from a man. Next, sugar canes are put into the crushing machine which crushes the sugar canes hardly and extracts the juice from it. Further is a purifying process. The juice put into the limsestone filter which filters the juice. In the step five, juice drops into the drum and drum puts on extreme heat. Then it evaporates and juice becomes syrup. Next, the machine centrifuge the sugar cane's syrup and getting out sugar crystals from syrup. In the last step, this syrup put into the drum and dries it a lot. Then, it keep a for cooling down. After a while, sugar becomes ready and it is usable for eating.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as sugar production and report its main sequence, from growing and harvesting through crushing, purification, evaporation and centrifuging. The stated growing period and the two harvesting methods are also grounded in the diagram. However, some stages are incomplete or misrepresented: the final stage is drying and cooling the separated sugar crystals, not putting the syrup into a drum, and the diagram does not say the sugar is ready to eat. The overview is also limited to saying there are “numerous steps”; it would be clearer to summarise that this is a linear process that turns cane juice into sugar. Covering the final stages accurately and distinguishing syrup from crystals would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The stages are presented in a generally logical order, and sequencing expressions such as “To start,” “Next,” and “In the last step” help the reader follow the process. The response also moves from the raw cane to the finished product without major disruption. However, the account is written as one paragraph, and some links are mechanical or unclear. For example, “Further is a purifying process” does not connect the stages naturally, while “Then, it keep a for cooling down” leaves the relationship between drying and cooling difficult to follow. Grouping the introduction and overview separately from the process details, and using clearer references such as “the resulting syrup” and “the crystals,” would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvested,” “crushing machine,” “purifying,” “evaporates,” and “syrup,” so the reader can recognise most of the stages. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or unnatural for describing a diagram. “Crushes the sugar canes hardly” does not express the intended action, and “the machine centrifuge the sugar cane’s syrup” uses the process term awkwardly. There are also spelling errors, including “atleast” and “limsestone,” and informal or unsupported wording such as “a lot” and “usable for eating.” Aim for precise process collocations and use the diagram’s terms consistently, especially “sugar crystals,” “drying,” and “cooling.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and linked sentences, and the sequence is usually understandable. However, errors in verb forms, articles, agreement and sentence construction occur often enough to make parts of the description awkward. For example, “The juice put into the limsestone filter” needs a passive form (“is put”), while “the machine centrifuge” needs a correctly formed verb or passive construction. In “Then, it keep a for cooling down,” the subject and verb do not agree and the sentence structure is incomplete. Punctuation also needs attention: there is no space after the full stop in “months.Then,” and several sentences begin with fragments or unclear constructions. Practise accurate passive forms for process descriptions and check each sentence for a complete subject and verb.

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