Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-18

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)

This diagram illustrate the manufacturing process for making sugar from sugar cane.

Overall there are several stages. From cultivation of sugar cane to ending the process with the production of crystalizing suger. This process involve both manufacturing and industrial process.

First it took almost 12-18 months to grow sugar cane. Once the sugar cane is fully mature, it is either harvesting through hand or by machine. Furthermore, it transfer to the crushing machine where we separate the juice from the sugar cane. Moreover, we use limestone filter to purifying the juice and separate the liquid so that no particles left behind. After that put this on to the heat to evaporate the excessive liquid and turned them into a syrup. The syrup is then crystalized. Finally put them in a container for drying and cooling wheich then turned into a refined sugar.

In conclusion, it took almost 7 stages to make sugar from sugar cane.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers all the key stages of the sugar manufacturing process, ranging from the initial growing and harvesting phases to crushing, purifying, evaporating, centrifuging, and finally drying and cooling. An overview is attempted at the beginning and end, mentioning the general number of stages. However, some descriptions lack precision or omit minor details, such as failing to explicitly detail the two distinct harvesting methods shown in the diagram (manual and mechanical). Furthermore, there is a slight shift in register with the use of first-person plural pronouns ('where we separate', 'we use'), which is inappropriate for an academic process description. Overall, the main features are reported adequately, aligning with a Band 6 level.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay has a clear overall arrangement and follows the chronological order of the process steps sequentially. Cohesive devices such as 'First', 'Once', 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', 'After that', and 'Finally' are utilized to guide the reader through the stages. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak, as the main body consists of one long, dense block of text, and the conclusion is extremely brief. Referencing and linking are occasionally mechanical. While the logical progression is generally maintained, the poor paragraph structure prevents the response from achieving a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts some subject-specific vocabulary related to the diagram, such as 'cultivation', 'harvesting', 'crushing', 'limestone filter', 'evaporate', and 'crystalized'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('illustrate' instead of 'illustrates', 'crystalizing', 'suger', 'wheich') and awkward word choices or collocations ('harvesting through hand' instead of 'by hand', 'it transfer' instead of 'it is transferred', 'to purifying' instead of 'to purify'). The range of vocabulary is adequate for the task, but lexical inaccuracies limit the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though attempts at complex structures frequently contain grammatical errors. Examples include tense and voice inconsistencies ('First it took' instead of 'takes', 'it is harvesting', 'After that put this on to the heat'), missing subjects, and incorrect prepositions. Punctuation is generally basic. While simple sentences are often clear, the frequent structural and grammatical errors cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from reaching Band 6.0.

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

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