Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-15
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 5.0)
The diagram shows the making process of sugar from sugar cane.
overall, There are sevrel steps of making sugar from sugar cane. from growing sugar cane to drying and cooling sugar crystal.
First, Sugar cane grown for 12 to 18 months. Sugar cane is ready to be harvest. Sometime machine ware used for harvesting or people do it by hands.
After that sugar cane go through a crushing machine where sugar cane converted into jucie. The juice gose through a purifying system where limestone filter used to purify the juice. During this process the water removed to make it thiker. Then Juice becomes syrup.
The syrup comes to a evaporator where the syrup boiled on intence heat. Then it gose to a centrifuge where sugar crystals were separates from syrup. In the end separate sugar crystals go into a drying and cooling process and then the dry sugar is ready to be used.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student successfully covers all stages of the sugar manufacturing process, from the initial growing and harvesting phases to the final drying and cooling. An overview is attempted at the beginning, noting that there are several steps in the process. However, some details are slightly inaccurate or conflated compared to the prompt, such as stating that water is removed during the purification stage rather than the evaporation stage. Furthermore, the response is just over the minimum word count, resulting in ideas that are somewhat briefly developed rather than fully extended. It meets the requirements for Band 5.5 to 6.0, as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant information, though some aspects lack precision.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is structured into short paragraphs, attempting to follow the linear stages of the diagram. However, paragraphing is poorly controlled, with the main body lumped together into one block and numerous sentence fragments. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, relying heavily on transitions like 'First', 'After that', and 'Then'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, for instance using pronouns without clear antecedents. Although an overall progression is discernible because it follows the diagram's order, the mechanical nature of the cohesion and faulty paragraphing limit the score to a Band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range to describe a process, using terms such as 'harvesting', 'crushing', 'purifying', and 'centrifuge'. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the text, including 'sevrel', 'ware', 'jucie', 'gose', 'thiker', 'evaporator' (spelled 'evaporator' correctly later, but 'evaporator' missing or misused), 'intence', and 'separates' instead of separated. These lexical errors and awkward word choices do not completely impede communication, but they restrict the range and accuracy, placing the response firmly at Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writing contains a mix of simple sentences and flawed attempts at complex structures. There are frequent grammatical and punctuation errors, including missing articles ('Sugar cane grown', 'come to a evaporator'), subject-verb agreement issues ('sugar cane go'), incorrect passive voice constructions ('sugar crystals were separates'), and run-on sentences with incorrect capitalisation ('overall, There are...'). These errors frequently distract the reader and cause difficulty, which aligns with the Band 5 descriptor for grammatical accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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