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 producing 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 is 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 through a centrifuge to separate sugar crystals from syrup. Finally, the syrup is dried and cooled and produces the final sugar produce.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all the main stages of the sugar manufacturing process, starting from the growing phase through to drying, cooling, and the final product. An overview is provided, stating that there are seven main stages. However, the word count is 123 words, falling short of the required 150-word minimum. This under-length impacts the overall task achievement as some details could have been further extended or elaborated to fully meet the prompt's requirements. Nevertheless, the progression from growing, harvesting, crushing, purifying, evaporating, centrifuging, to drying and cooling is accurately reported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement and follows the chronological order of the process logically. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'Once', 'After completing', and 'Finally' are used to guide the reader through the stages. Paragraphing is adequately managed, separating the introduction, overview, and body steps. However, referencing and transitions could be smoother, as seen in the phrase 'Similarly, purifying juice is heated', which creates a slightly awkward logical link between the purification and evaporation stages.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, successfully incorporating process-specific terms such as 'harvested', 'manually', 'crushed', 'limestone filter', 'evaporator', 'centrifuge', and 'sugar crystals'. There are some minor awkward phrasings, such as 'the final sugar produce' instead of 'product'. The lexical range is sufficient to convey the process clearly, but it lacks the flexibility and precision characteristic of higher band descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Once the sugar cane has matured, it is harvested either manually or by machine.' Grammatical control is fairly good, with passive structures like 'is grown', 'is harvested', and 'is crushed' handled accurately. There are minor slips in punctuation and phrasing, but these errors do not impede communication and the majority of sentences are grammatically sound.

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

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