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)
The given diagram illustrate the sugar production process from sugar
cane. The whole manufacturing procedure has been divided in 7 steps.
Overall, this is a conversion of the sugar canes into sugar and processed through the
harvesting, pressing, purifying, heating, centrifuge and drying procedures.
It can be seen that sugar canes take 1-1.5 years to grow. In the second step, harvesting is done in two ways; one is harvesting machine and the other is by using sickle. Afterwards, in the crushing stage, sugar canes are passed through a machine to produce juice.
In the next stage, purifying of the juice procedure is proceed with the use of limestone filter. Now the
purified juice is heated where it become in the form of syrup in evaporator step. In the second last step,centrifuge the produced syrup to separate the sugar crystals from it. In the final
stage, drying and cooling process is done to dry and cool the sugar crystals to get sugar.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all seven steps of the sugar manufacturing process, starting from growing and harvesting through to drying and cooling. An overview is provided at the beginning, noting that the procedure consists of seven stages and summarising the main transformation. The response accurately reports key details, such as the 12-18 month growing period (noted as 1-1.5 years) and the two harvesting methods (machine and sickle). However, the overview could be slightly more developed to fully synthesise the main trends, and some descriptions lean towards a mechanical translation of the diagram labels rather than a fluid summary. Overall, all parts of the task are addressed adequately, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.5 to 7.0, and is best placed at Band 6.5 due to slight under-development in the overarching summary.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall arrangement and follows the chronological sequence of the diagram logically. Cohesive devices such as 'In the second step', 'Afterwards', 'In the next stage', and 'In the final stage' are used to guide the reader through the process steps. However, paragraphing is somewhat weak, as the entire body of the process description is lumped into a single dense paragraph following the introduction. This makes the text harder to navigate. Additionally, referencing is occasionally mechanical. To reach a higher band, the student should break the process description into logical paragraphs representing different phases of production.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, using process-related terms such as 'manufacturing procedure', 'harvesting', 'crushing', 'purifying', and 'evaporator'. There are, however, several lexical and collocational inaccuracies. For instance, writing 'The given diagram illustrate' contains a subject-verb agreement error. Phrases like 'purifying of the juice procedure is proceed' and 'where it become in the form of syrup' are unnatural and awkward. Attempting less common vocabulary is evident, but awkward word choices and grammatical interference restrict the lexical score to a solid Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though error frequency is noticeable. There are several grammatical errors, such as 'The given diagram illustrate' (singular/plural mismatch), 'divided in 7 steps' (preposition error), and 'is proceed' instead of 'is processed'. Furthermore, the sentence 'Now the purified juice is heated where it become in the form of syrup in evaporator step' contains tense and article issues. Complex structures are attempted, but control over them is inconsistent, placing this criterion at a Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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