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 diagram illustrates the

processing of sugar from sugar cane. Overall, it involves seven steps,

beginning from cultivation of sugar cane and ending at drying and cooling the sugar

crystals. The process includes growing, harvesting, crushing, purifying juice,

evaporating, centrifuging and at the drying and cooling.

First, sugar cane is grown for 12-18 until it becomes ready to harvest. Then mature sugar is harvested manually by workers using knives or mechanically by harvesting machine. Furthermore, harvest cane transfer to crushing machine where sugar cane juice is extracted. In 4th step juice is purifying through limestone filter which further pass on to evaporator where juice has become thick syrup after heating and separating water from juice. Moreover, in next step, syrup in going under centrifugation process, centrifuging machine separated sugar crystals from syrup. In the last stage, after cooling and drying these crysytals finished sugar is obtained that is ready to packaged and transferred to market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all the main stages of the sugar manufacturing process, from the initial growing and harvesting phases through crushing, purifying, evaporating, and centrifuging, to the final drying and cooling stage. The overview provided in the introduction identifies the total number of steps and outlines the start and end points accurately. Key features, such as the two harvesting methods and the use of a limestone filter and evaporator, are reported. However, some minor inaccuracies in expression and referencing occur, such as stating 'growing for 12-18' without a time unit, but overall, the task is addressed adequately and meets the requirements for a Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is coherent overall and follows the chronological order of the diagram logically. Transitional markers such as 'First', 'Then', 'Furthermore', 'Moreover', and 'In the last stage' are used to guide the reader through the seven steps. Paragraphing is attempted, though the second paragraph is quite dense and could benefit from being split into smaller thematic chunks. Cohesive devices are occasionally mechanical or slightly repetitive, and referencing is sometimes awkward, such as 'these crysytals finished sugar'. Nevertheless, the logical progression is clear enough to earn a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, incorporating process-specific terms such as 'cultivation', 'harvested', 'crushing machine', 'limestone filter', 'evaporator', and 'centrifugation process'. However, there are notable word choice errors and awkward phrasings throughout, such as 'harvest cane transfer to crushing machine', 'juice is purifying', and 'juice has become thick syrup'. Spelling errors also appear, such as 'crysytals'. Because these errors occasionally distract the reader without completely impeding communication, the response fits the Band 5.5 profile.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writing contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors involving prepositions, articles, and verb forms, such as '12-18 until it becomes ready', 'harvesting machine' (missing article), 'juice is purifying' (passive voice error), and 'syrup in going under'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the frequency of grammatical slips prevents the response from reaching a higher band. The control demonstrated aligns with a Band 5.5.

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