Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-30

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 7.0)

The given diagram illustrates the process of producing sugar from sugar cane plants. This process is performed in sugar refineries.

Overall, the manufacturing process of sugar has 7 crucial steps, ranging from growing the sugarcane to drying and cooling it to form sugar.

To commence with, the first step is to plant sugar cane in a plantation, then it takes 12-18 months to fully mature and become ready for cultivation. Moving forward, fully grown sugarcane is harvested by hand or using large combines, then it is loaded in a trailer and sent to a sugar production factory. Here, it is crushed using industrial rollers to make juice, that is further strained through a limestone filter for purification.

Probing ahead, the purified juice is then poured into an evaporator, where it is boiled until most of the water in the juice evaporate, leaving behind a sweet thick syrup, made up of mostly sugar. Furthermore, the syrup is placed inside a centruge, that spins at high speed, to seperate the sugar crystals from syrup. The crystals are then left for drying and cooling, before being packaged in sacks, to be sold in nearby cities.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The student successfully covers all parts of the task by outlining the main stages of sugar production from sugar cane, starting from the growing phase and finishing with drying and cooling. An effective overview is provided, highlighting the total number of steps involved in the process. Key features of the diagram, such as the two harvesting methods (by hand or machine), crushing, filtering through limestone, evaporation, and centrifugation, are accurately reported without introducing extraneous or unsupported details. The information is logically selected and presented clearly, meeting the requirements for a high band in Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is logically organized with a clear overall progression from the beginning to the end of the manufacturing process. The student makes good use of paragraphing, separating the introduction, the overview, and the sequential steps of the process. Cohesive devices are employed appropriately to guide the reader through the stages, using transitional phrases such as 'To commence with', 'Moving forward', and 'Probing ahead'. Referencing is generally clear and effective, ensuring the relationships between different steps in the diagram are easy to follow, supporting a coherent overall arrangement.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

The student demonstrates an adequate to good range of vocabulary suitable for a process diagram. Terms related to manufacturing and processing such as 'refineries', 'mature', 'cultivation', 'industrial rollers', 'purification', 'evaporator', and 'centrifuge' are used effectively. There are, however, a few minor lexical and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'centruge' instead of 'centrifuge' and 'seperate' instead of 'separate'. Despite these occasional slips, the vocabulary allows for precise description of the technical process without impeding communication.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and participial phrases successfully (e.g., 'where it is boiled until most of the water in the juice evaporate', 'that spins at high speed'). There are minor grammatical slips, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('water in the juice evaporate' instead of 'evaporates'), and a missing preposition or unnecessary comma use. Nonetheless, the majority of sentences are grammatically sound, and the punctuation does not impede the flow or clarity of the message, demonstrating solid control over grammar.

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