Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-25
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 process involve in producing sugar from sugarcane.
Overall, mature sugar canes are harvested using agriculture machinery and it is crrushed to extract juice. Then, the purified juice is heated until it change into syrup. The suger crystals are seperated from syrup and it is treated with drying and cooling process afterthat the final product is ready.
Initially, the sugarcanes plants mature after 12-18 months and when it is time to harvest the farmers use machinery to harvest sugercanes.Then , it is crushed to extract the juice from the plants after completing this step the extracted juices are purified through limestone filter.
Similarly, the purified juice is then cook in evaporator with high heat until it change into syrup. The syrup is then treated with centrifuge process, in this process sugar crystals are seperated from syrups.After the segration the suger is kept for drying and cooling.When the syger is completely dry final product is ready to distribute in the supermarket
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student successfully covers all the main stages of the sugar manufacturing process, starting from the 12-18 month growing period and harvesting, through crushing, purifying with a limestone filter, evaporating, centrifuging, and finally drying and cooling. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, which outlines the key transformation steps. However, there are some minor omissions and slight inaccuracies in detailing the inputs and methods, such as missing the dual harvesting methods depicted (manual versus mechanical) and minor spelling errors in the process names. Nevertheless, all core stages are reported, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 6.5-7 response. The information is adequately selected and presented.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response has a clear overall progression, moving logically from the initial growth and harvesting stages to the final packaging or distribution. Paragraphing is utilised, separating the introduction/overview, the body of the process, and the conclusion. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'Then', and 'Similarly' are used to guide the reader through the steps, although some transitions feel a bit mechanical or repetitive. Referencing is generally clear, though occasional mechanical errors in cohesion prevent the text from achieving a higher band. Overall arrangement is coherent and easy to follow.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting process-specific terms such as 'harvest', 'crushed', 'purified', 'evaporator', and 'centrifuge'. However, there are numerous spelling mistakes ('involve' instead of 'involved', 'crrushed', 'suger', 'seperated', 'afterthat', 'syger', 'syger') and some word-form/choice errors ('cook' instead of 'cooked', 'segration' instead of 'segregation'). While these vocabulary limitations and spelling slips do not completely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score to a Band 5.5, as precision and control are lacking.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating time clauses ('when it is time to harvest', 'after completing this step') and relative/participial structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly regarding verb forms and subject-verb agreement ('sugar canes are harvested... and it is crrushed', 'sugarcanes plants mature... and when it is time... the farmers use', 'the purified juice is then cook'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods. These errors occur regularly throughout the response, placing it firmly in the Band 5.5 category.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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