Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-07

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 5.0)

Sugar is a disaccharide carbohydrate, which is mostly obtained from sugar cane juice due to its low price and high productivity. Sugar cane plant takes 1-1.5 year to matures after sowing, and harvested both by using machines as well as manually by hands. Cutting manually is a cheep method but it takes more time and efforts as compared with machine method. After harvesting, stem of the plant is crushed in such a machine where its juice and stem fiber are separated. Juice is collected and filtered by using limestone filters. Purified juice is then heat up and, water is evaporated so that juice becomes a syrup. This syrup is then poured into a high speed centrifuge machine where, during centrifugation process, sugar crystals are separated from the other contents of the syrup. These sugar crystals are shifted to another chamber where they are dried and cooled. The end product is pure sugar which is ready to be packed and, go for sell in the market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response addresses the task by describing the manufacturing process, but it fails to provide a clear overview or summary of the main stages. The inclusion of external information, such as the growth cycle of sugar cane (1-1.5 years) and the comparison between manual and machine harvesting, is not present in the provided diagram and therefore constitutes irrelevant information. A successful Task 1 response should focus exclusively on the information presented in the visual prompt. While the sequence of the process is followed, the lack of a clear summary and the inclusion of extraneous details prevent a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is written as a single paragraph, which hinders the logical presentation of information. While there is a chronological progression, the lack of paragraphing makes the text feel dense. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'After harvesting' and 'This syrup', but the flow is somewhat mechanical. To improve, you should group the process into logical stages (e.g., harvesting, processing, and refining) using clear paragraph breaks. Referencing is generally clear, but the overall structure lacks the sophisticated organization required for higher bands.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but there are several spelling errors and word-choice inaccuracies. For example, 'cheep' should be 'cheap', 'heat up' is informal, and 'go for sell' is grammatically incorrect and unnatural. While you demonstrate some technical terms like 'disaccharide', 'centrifuge', and 'evaporated', the overall range is limited. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise academic collocations and ensure accurate spelling of common words.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. Examples include 'Sugar cane plant takes 1-1.5 year to matures' (should be 'matures'), 'harvested both by using machines as well as manually' (awkward phrasing), and 'juice is heat up' (should be 'heated'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with unnecessary commas, such as in 'machine where, during centrifugation process, sugar'. Improving subject-verb agreement and refining sentence construction will significantly enhance your score.

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

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