Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-19

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 provided information in the given diagram illustrates the entire process of manufacturing sugar from sugar canes.

Overall, it is quite evident from the mentioned diagram that the whole process consists of seven different stages starting from cultivating new sugar canes and ending with ready-made dry and cool sugar. Moreover, each step has been passed from a wide variety of different observation to fulfil the required task in a particular time frame.

First of all, sugar canes was cultivating in a specific season, whereas it take approximately one or half year for growing. After that, the sugar canes was harvesting by either a manual way through humans or by heavy machines which are specifically made for harvesting. Next in the third step, these harvested canes was crushed in factories via crush machine by producing sugar juice from canes. In the following stage, the juice was filtered through limestone filter to purifying juice.

Afterward in fifth stage, the filtered juice was evaporated via evaporator by heat, as a result the juice becomes syrup. In the sixth step, the centrifuge process was beginning to isolate sugar crystals from syrup. In the final step, dry and cool sugar become ready to use and it was packing into 50 KG bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the seven main stages of sugar production, from growing to packaging (noting that packaging is an extrapolation, as it is not strictly in the diagram, but it fits the context). The overview clearly states the start and end points of the linear process. However, some details are slightly inaccurate or vague, such as stating that 'sugar canes was cultivating' rather than growing naturally over 12-18 months. The response is well above the minimum length requirement and correctly covers the visual data, earning a Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The text is arranged logically and demonstrates a clear progression from the first stage to the final stage. The student makes good use of sequential transition markers such as 'Overall', 'First of all', 'After that', 'Next in the third step', 'In the following stage', and 'Afterward in fifth stage'. Paragraphing is used appropriately to divide the introduction, overview, and body steps. However, some cohesive devices feel slightly mechanical or repetitive ('in the third step', 'in the sixth step'), which prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Overall, cohesion is functional and easy to follow, supporting a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting process-specific terms such as 'cultivating', 'harvesting', 'crushed', 'evaporated', and 'centrifuge process'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation issues, such as 'ready-made dry and cool sugar' and 'crush machine' instead of 'crushing machine'. Spelling and word formation errors also appear, such as 'purifying juice' instead of 'to purify the juice'. Because the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the meaning despite noticeable lexical inaccuracies, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but it is heavily marred by frequent grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement and passive voice constructions. Examples include 'sugar canes was cultivating' (should be 'sugar cane is cultivated'), 'it take approximately' (should be 'it takes'), 'the sugar canes was harvesting' (should be 'were harvested'), and 'sugar become ready' (should be 'becomes'). While the meaning remains understandable, the density of basic grammatical inaccuracies prevents the score from rising into the 6.0 range, resulting in a Band 5.0.

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

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