Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29

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 for producing sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, there are seven main stages of sugar production. Starting with the growing and ending with the drying and cooling and produced the sugar.

Initially, sugar cane is grown for 12-18 months. Once the sugar cane has matured, it is harvested either manually or by machine. After completing the harvesting, the sugar cane is crushed and juice was extracted. The juice is purified by using a limestone filter to remove the extra particles.

Similarly, purifying juice is heated in an evaporator until the juice becomes syrup. The juice is passed a centrifuge to separate sugar crystals from syrup. Finally, the syrup is dried and cooled and produces the final sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The student 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. A clear overview is provided in the second paragraph, stating that there are seven main stages. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 121 words. Because of this under-length penalty, the task cannot be fully developed, which impacts the overall Task Achievement score. Furthermore, there is a minor grammatical flaw in the overview ('and produced the sugar') that slightly detracts from the fluency of the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged logically following the chronological order of the flowchart. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'Once', 'After completing', 'Similarly', and 'Finally' are used to guide the reader through the various stages of the manufacturing process. Paragraphing is appropriately handled, separating the introduction/overview from the body details. However, the progression in the final paragraph feels slightly mechanical, and the sentence 'Similarly, purifying juice is heated...' uses an awkward transition ('Similarly') where a sequential link would be more appropriate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses a sufficient range of vocabulary appropriate for a process diagram, incorporating terms such as 'matured', 'harvested', 'manually', 'crushed', 'purified', and 'evaporator'. While the lexical selection is generally adequate for the task, there are a few word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'purifying juice' instead of 'the purified juice' and 'passes a centrifuge' missing the preposition 'through'. There are no spelling errors, and communication is clear throughout.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using passive voice effectively in places (e.g., 'sugar cane is grown', 'it is harvested', 'the juice is purified'). However, there are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, particularly in the overview ('and produced the sugar') and in the body paragraph ('juice was extracted', where tense shifts incorrectly from the present simple used elsewhere). Despite these slips, the errors do not impede overall communication.

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

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