Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-23

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 displays the sugar manufacturing process from sugar cane.This process followed by 7 process.

Overall, it can be seen that, this process start with growing sugar cane and the final stage is drying and colling.

In the beging of the process, sugar cane planting for 12 to 18 months ,after this preoid it became a big sugar cane then farmer harvesting this cane through tractor and sometimes by hand. In the following process all sugar canes put on a electric machine for crushed. After this process all canes came out in a juice based.

Furthermore, all juice send a big limestone filter for purifyied.Then all purified juice transfer in the Evaporator machice and after heating it becomes a syrup.In the six steps all syrup send for centrifuge and this process separates sugar crystals from syrup. And the last step all syrup tranfer in a big contener for drying and cooling. Finally ,it came out sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The candidate successfully identifies the main stages of the sugar manufacturing process, starting from growing and harvesting through to crushing, purifying, evaporating, centrifuging, and finally drying and cooling. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, outlining the beginning and end of the linear sequence. However, the response contains several minor inaccuracies and awkward phrasings in describing specific steps, such as stating 'all canes came out in a juice based' instead of describing the separation of juice from fibre. Furthermore, some steps are described too simplistically, lacking sufficient extension or precision. Overall, the task is addressed adequately, but the development of features falls slightly short of the higher band descriptors, aligning best with a Band 5.5 to 6.0 level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response attempts to organise the information logically by following the chronological order of the diagram, beginning with an introductory sentence and an overall summary. Paragraphing is attempted, with the body text split into two main sections. However, cohesive devices are frequently mechanical, repetitive, or inaccurate, such as 'In the beging', 'after this preoid', and 'In the following process'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, and the transitions between sentences lack smoothness. While there is a discernible overall progression from the beginning to the end of the process, the awkward linking and faulty cohesive ties mean the organisation does not achieve the clarity required for Band 6.5. Therefore, a Band 5.5 is appropriate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively basic and repetitive, with frequent word-form errors and spelling mistakes throughout the text (e.g., 'beging', 'preoid', 'colling', 'machice', 'contener'). The student attempts some less common technical terms from the diagram, such as 'limestone filter', 'Evaporator', 'centrifuge', and 'sugar crystals', but often pairs them with incorrect grammatical forms or awkward collocations like 'juice based' or 'sugar cane planting for 12 to 18 months'. The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for conveying the basic steps, but noticeable errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader, fitting the Band 5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The essay displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic active constructions that are frequently marred by foundational errors. There are numerous tense, subject-verb agreement, and word-form errors, such as 'This process followed by 7 process', 'this process start', 'farmer harvesting this cane', and 'all juice send a big limestone filter for purifyied'. Complex sentence forms are attempted but are almost always faulty. Punctuation errors, such as missing spaces after periods and unnecessary comma splices, are also present. These frequent errors disrupt the flow and impede comprehension at times, corresponding to a Band 5.0 score.

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