Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-06

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 6.0)

The diagram highlights the given procedure on how sugar is being produced from sugar cane. Overall, it is composed of several steps(Growing, harvesting, crushing, purifying juice, evaporator, centrifuge, and drying and cooling).

In the first step, a sugar cane should grow within 12-18 months until they are now ready to harvest. In addition, there were two ways for harvesting, firstly, the farmer will cut the sugar cane and transferred it to the harvesting truck. After that, the sugar canes will be inserted to a machine for crushing to produce juice and then transferred to a limestone filler to purify the juice. Furthermore, the juice has been transformed into syrup by heating into an evaporator. When the process is done a sugar crystals will be separated from syrup through centrifuge, then it will be passed through the drying and cooling process. Finally, when it is now successfully cool down the finished product is now called sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main stages of the sugar production process, from growth to the final product. However, the overview is somewhat weak; it simply lists the steps in parentheses rather than synthesising the key features of the process. The description of the stages is generally accurate, but it lacks a clear distinction between the agricultural phase (growing/harvesting) and the industrial manufacturing phase. To improve, ensure the overview highlights the transformation from raw material to refined product and avoid listing steps in the introduction. The response is sufficient in detail but could benefit from more precise reporting of the transition between stages.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The essay is organised into two paragraphs, which is acceptable, though the division between the agricultural and industrial stages could be clearer. The use of cohesive devices such as 'In the first step', 'In addition', 'After that', and 'Finally' helps to guide the reader through the chronological sequence. However, some transitions feel slightly mechanical. The referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences could be improved by varying the sentence structure rather than relying solely on time-based connectors. Overall, the information is logically sequenced and easy to follow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, using process-specific terms like 'harvesting', 'crushing', 'purify', 'evaporator', and 'centrifuge'. However, there are some awkward phrasings, such as 'a sugar crystals' (which is grammatically incorrect as 'crystals' is plural) and 'successfully cool down'. The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited; using more sophisticated synonyms for 'produce' or 'transfer' would enhance the lexical score. While the terminology is accurate for the diagram, the lack of variety and minor errors in word choice prevent a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'a sugar cane should grow' (should is unnecessary here), 'until they are now ready' (tense inconsistency), 'inserted to a machine' (preposition error), and 'a sugar crystals' (article/number agreement). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from reaching a higher band. The use of passive voice is appropriate for a process description, but the control over articles and verb tenses needs more attention.

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