Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The illustration provides information about the production of sugar by sugar cane by many procedures.

Overall, the process consists of several stages with beginning of the growing of sugar canes and ending on the dying and cooling of the sugar.

To begin with, the sugar canes field is planted and the sugar canes grow into full field by 12 to 18 months and then in the step two it is harvested and crushed into juice after that juice is purified by a limestone filter.

After that, juice is transported into the evaporator

in which heat is provided and the juice become syrup. In the sixth step, juice go into centrifuges where sugar crystals are separated from syrup and then on the last step, the syrup is converted into sugar by a process known as drying and cooling and then it is use as domestic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers all the main steps in the diagram, ranging from the initial growing and harvesting of sugar cane to the final drying and cooling stage. An overview is attempted, noting that the process consists of several stages from growing to cooling. However, the response fails to meet the minimum length requirement of 150 words, coming in at 144 words. Furthermore, some details are slightly inaccurate or overly brief, such as misidentifying the end of the process as 'dying' instead of 'drying' and describing the final use rather loosely. While the general sequence is outlined, the development of ideas is limited due to the restricted length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The text exhibits basic organizational structure with an introductory sentence and some sequencing devices such as 'To begin with', 'After that', and 'in the sixth step'. However, the essay suffers significantly from a lack of proper paragraphing, being written almost entirely as a single block of text or disjointed run-on sentences. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical and repetitive. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as the abrupt transition in the final sentence regarding the end of the process and its domestic use. Progression is hindered by the lack of clear paragraph breaks.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for describing a simple process, featuring terms like 'harvested', 'crushed', 'purified', 'limestone filter', and 'centrifuges'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'dying' instead of 'drying' and 'juice become syrup' (lack of agreement). Less common lexical items are attempted but lack precision or natural collocation. The range is limited and repetitive, preventing the response from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are numerous run-on sentences joined by coordinating conjunctions like 'and then' without appropriate punctuation, creating long, breathless clauses (e.g., 'and then in the step two it is harvested and crushed into juice after that juice is purified by a limestone filter'). Grammatical errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('juice become syrup', 'juice go into') and missing articles. These errors occasionally disrupt readability, though meaning is usually recoverable.

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