Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-13

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 given diagram illustrates the manufacturing process of sugar.

The base step is growing. And the raw material is sugarcane. The time duration of this process is around 12 to 18 months. Then the second step is about the harvesting by using tractors or take out crops by workers manually. The further step is crushed. Enter the sugarcane in the machine and the juice is came through from the bottom and poured into a container.

Then it transferred into Limestone filter in which the juice is purified and the small rashes and particles are removed from the juice. In the further step juice converts syrup by giving heat to the mixture in the evaporator machine. After that sugar crystals and Syrup separate from each other in centrifuge. In the final stage, the sugar is dried and cooled before being transferred into containers.

Overall, the whole process describes steps of making sugar from sugar cane.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all the main stages of the sugar manufacturing process, starting from the growing phase through to harvesting, crushing, purifying, evaporating, centrifuging, and drying/cooling. Key features such as the 12 to 18-month duration and methods of harvesting are appropriately reported. However, the overview sentence at the end is overly simplistic and fails to highlight the broader summary of the process, such as the total number of stages or the transition from raw agricultural material to a refined product. Despite this minor limitation in overall synthesis, the response adequately addresses the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The report shows a logical progression through the stages of the diagram, moving chronologically from the base step to the final stage. Paragraphing is used to separate different phases of the process effectively. However, cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or repetitive, as seen in the frequent use of transition words like 'Then', 'The further step', and 'After that'. Additionally, referencing and linking within sentences can be slightly disjointed, such as 'take out crops by workers manually' interrupting the flow of clause structures. Overall, the arrangement is coherent, but cohesion needs more flexibility.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary relevant to the process, such as 'manufacturing process', 'raw material', 'evaporator machine', 'crystals', and 'containers'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, including 'The base step is growing' instead of 'The initial stage is cultivation', 'juice is came through' instead of 'juice is extracted', and 'small rashes' instead of 'small impurities or debris'. While meaning is generally conveyed, these lexical inaccuracies prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, although the control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several noticeable grammatical errors, such as 'is about the harvesting by using tractors or take out crops' (faulty parallelism and phrasing), 'Enter the sugarcane in the machine' (missing subject and imperative tone inappropriate for an academic report), and 'juice converts syrup' (missing preposition 'into'). Punctuation and article usage also need refinement. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to restrict the score to a 5.0.

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