Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-08

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 rendered process chat shows how sugar is produced from sugarcane.

Overall, it can be seen that the production of sugar contains 7 different steps.

Evidently, it is quite apparent that the first thing is to grow sugarcane, which takes 12-13 months on average. Secondly, it is harvested by two different methods, as per the person's preference, one by machines, which is more convenient compared to the other methods, and the other is manually by hand. After that, the harvested sugarcane has to go through a crushing machine, which is used to extract juice. Afterwards, the juice is purified by a filtration process with the help of limestone.

Moving on further, the filtered juice is further processed and converted to syrup with the help of the Evaporator. Furthermore, the crystals of sugar are separated from the syrup by the Centrifuge. Last but not least, the crystals are further dried and cooled to achieve the final product, sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers all stages of the process, from growth to the final product. However, it lacks a clear overview of the main trends or features, which is essential for a Band 7 or higher. The description is largely a sequential list of steps rather than a synthesis of the process. While the key stages are identified, the response would benefit from grouping related steps (e.g., preparation, processing, and refining) to demonstrate a better understanding of the overall flow. The inclusion of specific details like the 12-13 month growth period is good, but the analysis of the process could be more sophisticated.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is logically organized, following the chronological order of the process. Cohesive devices such as 'Secondly', 'After that', 'Afterwards', and 'Moving on further' are used to guide the reader. However, the paragraphing is insufficient; the entire body is presented as a single block of text. To improve, the response should be divided into at least two paragraphs—perhaps one for the initial preparation stages and another for the industrial processing stages. This would improve the overall structure and readability of the report.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with terms like 'harvested', 'crushing', 'purified', 'filtration', 'evaporator', and 'centrifuge' used correctly. However, there are some minor issues with word choice and phrasing, such as 'rendered process chat' (likely meant 'diagram' or 'flow chart') and 'as per the person's preference', which is slightly informal for an academic report. The range is sufficient to convey the meaning, but it lacks the more precise, academic collocations that would elevate the score to a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'the production of sugar contains 7 different steps' (a process 'consists of' or 'involves' steps) and 'the first thing is to grow sugarcane'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, though some sentences are slightly clunky. While the errors do not impede communication, the range of structures is somewhat limited, and the control over complex sentences could be more consistent to reach a higher band.

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

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