Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-14

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 illustrates the step-by-step process for manufacturing sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, it is a linear process, commencing with growing sugar cane, harvesting and ending by drying and cooling the producted sugar.

In the first step, the sugar cane plants are left to grow for 12-18 months, unitl they are not ready to harvest. After that, the mature sugar cane plants are harvested by two different methods, either manually or mechanically.The manual method involves farmer use cutting tools to seperate the leaves of plant, while in mechanical method the sugar cane are chopped directly. In the third step, the harvested sugar cane are undergoes to crushing mill, which extract the liquid juice, later on the juice is purified by the help of limestone filter.

Next, the purified juice is heated in an evaporator to remove the extra water, and transformed into pure syrup. Subsequently, the syrup is then poured into a centrifuge so the syrup had sepatated sugar crystals. Finally, the crystals are dried and cooled and the end product is sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all the key stages of the sugar manufacturing process, from the initial growing and harvesting of sugar cane to the final cooling and drying of the sugar crystals. The overview paragraph captures the main features well, identifying it as a linear process that begins with cultivation and ends with the final product. The student effectively highlights key comparisons, such as the manual versus mechanical harvesting methods, and accurately describes intermediate steps like crushing, purifying with limestone, evaporating, and centrifuging. The information is reported clearly without unnecessary detail, satisfying all requirements of the task. The ideas are well-selected and presented logically, earning a solid band score for this criterion based on the comprehensive coverage of the diagram.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The text demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The response is appropriately paragraphed, separating the introduction, overview, and individual stages of the process into distinct sections. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the steps, with phrases like 'In the first step', 'After that', 'Next', 'Subsequently', and 'Finally' creating a clear chronological sequence. However, a few cohesive links are slightly awkward or mechanical, such as 'later on the juice is purified by the help of limestone filter'. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional minor slip-ups in connective phrasing prevent the response from reaching the higher bands. Overall, the structural progression is easy to follow and meets the descriptors for band 7.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for an academic process description, utilising terms such as 'linear process', 'cultivating', 'evaporator', 'centrifuge', and 'crystals'. There are some successful attempts at less common vocabulary, but these are occasionally marred by word-choice and collocation errors, such as writing 'the producted sugar' instead of 'produced sugar', 'unitl they are not ready' instead of 'until they are ready', and 'the syrup had sepatated sugar crystals' instead of 'separated sugar crystals'. Additionally, spelling errors like 'sepatated' detract from the overall impression. While these errors do not impede communication, they reflect a band 6 level where vocabulary control is sometimes inconsistent.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating an attempt to use relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'which extract the liquid juice', 'harvested by two different methods'). However, there are several grammatical inaccuracies and awkward constructions throughout the text. Examples include 'unitl they are not ready to harvest' (incorrect negative and typo), 'involves farmer use cutting tools' (grammatical mismatch), and 'the harvested sugar cane are undergoes to crushing mill' (subject-verb agreement and incorrect prepositional usage). Despite these frequent errors, the meaning remains clear and the sentences do not impede communication, placing the grammatical performance firmly within the band 6 category.

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

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