Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-14

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 illustrates production of sugar from sugar cane which comprise of 7 steps process. First of all, there are seven steps process in which cultivate of sugar cane which ripen in 12 to 18 month after that it is harvest by two methods first is through hand and secondly method is through machinery which is very fast method of harvesting. Next step is crushing of sugar cane which produces juice. The subsequent stage involves purifying juice with addition of limestone afterwards it gives heat which dense syrup and evaporation occur, further action takes place by centrifugation in which separate sugars crystals from syrup. The final step is drying and cooling of sugar, at the end sugar is ready for export towards shop and big retailers overall it was crucial process to produce sugar which contain 7 steps series of process the most tough series is growing of sugar cane and wait for

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as having seven stages and include several key details: cane grows for 12–18 months, harvesting can be manual or mechanical, and the later stages involve crushing, purification, evaporation, centrifugation, and drying. This gives the reader a relevant account of the sequence. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: limestone is shown as a filter, not explicitly as an addition, and the diagram does not say the finished sugar is exported to shops or retailers. The overview is also repetitive and unfinished, ending with “wait for”. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview of the full transformation from cane to sugar, then describe each stage accurately without adding unsupported information.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages are generally presented in the correct order, and linking phrases such as “First of all”, “Next step”, “The subsequent stage” and “The final step” help signal progression. However, the response is written as one long paragraph, so the overview and stage details are not clearly separated. Several links are awkward or unclear, particularly “afterwards it gives heat” and “further action takes place”, which make the relationship between stages harder to follow. The ending repeats that there are seven steps and then trails off. Use a short overview followed by a clearly organised process paragraph, and connect each stage with precise transitions such as “The juice is then filtered” and “After evaporation”.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of process vocabulary, including “crushing”, “purifying”, “evaporation”, “centrifugation” and “syrup”, which is appropriate to the diagram. Some less common terms are attempted, but several choices or combinations are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “cultivate of sugar cane”, “dense syrup” and “separate sugars crystals”. “Very fast method” and “big retailers” are also imprecise or unsupported descriptions. Aim for accurate process collocations and avoid adding details that the diagram does not provide. For example, describe the juice as being filtered through limestone and heated until it becomes syrup; this would make the vocabulary more precise while retaining the useful technical terms you already use.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to combine stages in longer sentences, but control is limited and errors are frequent enough to make some relationships difficult to understand. Examples include “which comprise of 7 steps process”, “it is harvest by two methods” and “in which separate sugars crystals from syrup”; these show problems with agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction. The clause “afterwards it gives heat which dense syrup” is particularly unclear because the subject and verb relationships are not expressed correctly. There is also an unfinished final clause, “and wait for”. Use shorter, complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, then add more complex structures once those basic patterns are accurate.

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