Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-04

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 6.5)

The diagram illustrates the process of production of the sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, manufacturing process of sugar follows seven steps. Starting from growing sugar cane plants and then go through other stages, such as harvesting, crushing, purifying, evaporator, centrifuge and ultimately become final product sugar.

At a first glance, the process starts from the harvesting of sugar can plants which are kept for 12-18 months until they fully grown up. Harvesting follows two methods, one is done by hands and another one is by harvester. After that sugar cane sticks send to crushing machine to squeeze out juice from it, which is later purified by purifying flask fitted with the limestone filter.

After extracting pure sugar cane juice, it go through the stage of evaporation where due to the heat moisture from the juice get evaporated and left only thick syrup behind . In the next stage, a roller rotates juice from inside, owing to centrifugal force it separates sugar crystals from sugar syrup. Finally, at last step those sugar crystals are transfer to giant container for drying and cooling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all stages of the sugar production process, from growing to final packaging. You have successfully identified the main features and provided a logical summary. However, the overview is slightly weak; it lists the steps rather than highlighting the key transformation stages. To reach a higher band, ensure the overview captures the essence of the process (e.g., the transition from raw material to refined product) rather than just counting the steps. The inclusion of specific details like the 12-18 month growth period and the two harvesting methods is good, as it demonstrates a clear understanding of the provided diagram.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is clear, following the chronological order of the manufacturing process. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Starting from', 'After that', and 'In the next stage', which help the reader follow the sequence. However, some transitions are a bit mechanical, and there is a lack of variety in linking phrases. To improve, try to use more sophisticated cohesive devices to connect sentences and clauses, ensuring the flow between steps feels more natural and less like a list of instructions.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'centrifugal force', 'evaporation', and 'purifying'. However, there are several instances of awkward phrasing and word choice errors, such as 'sugar can plants' (should be 'sugar cane'), 'grown up' (should be 'mature'), and 'purifying flask' (the diagram shows a filter). Additionally, 'final product sugar' is slightly redundant. To improve, focus on using more precise technical terminology and ensure that your collocations are natural. Expanding your range of descriptive verbs and nouns will help you achieve a higher score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the sugar', 'the process of production of the sugar') and subject-verb agreement ('it go through', 'moisture... get evaporated'). Some sentences are slightly disjointed due to these errors. To reach a higher band, you need to demonstrate better control over complex structures and reduce the frequency of basic grammatical slips. Proofreading for pluralization and verb tense consistency would significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.