Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-26

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 6.5)

The diagram illustrates how sugar is produced from sugarcane.

Overall, the process consists of seven main stages, beginning with the collection of sugar canes and ending with the production of sugar.

At the first stage, sugar canes take 12-18 months to grow. Then in the second stage, these sugar canes are harvested in two ways through tractors and stored in container. Although, it can be cut by workers manually. In the following step, these canes underwent the process of crushing and the formation of juice. Subsequently, the juice is passed to limestone filter to remove impurities. In the fifth step, the juice is stored in a vessel and then heated at higher temperature and evaporates the water to make it more thicker and to turn into syrup.

The most important part of this process is to centrifuge the sugar crystals from the syrup. The process ends with last stage, which is to dry and cool the sugar in a metal vessel.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The student successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by summarising the seven-stage manufacturing process of sugar from sugar cane. The overview is clearly stated, identifying the start and end points of the process. Key features are selected and reported, such as the growing period of 12-18 months, the dual harvesting methods (mechanical and manual), crushing, purification via a limestone filter, evaporation, centrifugation, and finally drying and cooling. While some minor details could be further extended, the response covers all essential stages shown in the diagram accurately and logically, satisfying the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response exhibits clear logical organization and progression throughout. The student uses sequence markers effectively to guide the reader through the process, such as 'At the first stage', 'Then in the second stage', 'In the following step', and 'Subsequently'. Paragraphing is utilized appropriately to separate the introduction, body steps, and conclusion. However, minor cohesive flaws exist, such as the dangling transition 'Although, it can be cut by workers manually', which lacks complete clause integration. Overall, cohesion is managed well, supporting a Band 7.0 score.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for an academic task, incorporating process-specific terms such as 'harvested', 'impurities', 'evaporates', 'centrifuge', and 'crystals'. There are some minor lexical and grammatical word choice inaccuracies, such as 'make it more thicker' (redundancy) and 'stored in container' (missing article/pluralization). Despite these occasional slips, the vocabulary used is sufficient to communicate the information clearly, earning a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

A mix of simple and complex sentence forms is attempted throughout the response. The writer demonstrates good control over several complex structures, such as 'Although, it can be cut by workers manually' and relative clauses. However, there are notable grammatical inconsistencies and tense shifts, such as 'these canes underwent' (shifting from present to past tense) and 'evaporates the water to make it more thicker'. Punctuation and article errors also occur occasionally, which places the response firmly within the Band 6.0 descriptor range.

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

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