Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02

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 given flow chart illustrates the industirial production process of refined sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, process begains from planting sugar cane, harvesting by heavy machinery then it gose to crusher to make juice and than evaporater covert juice into syrup and end of the process it will go for draying process. whole process compeleted into 7 steps.

firstly, farmers plant the sugar cane crops on farming land and sugar cane be matured after 12-18 months. Afterwards, it is harvested by big equipments or harvest manually by farmers then it will go for crushing to make juice. Juice is purifying by limestone filter to remove some solid watse and use some chemicals to remove some cantaminats into juice.

purified juice takes palce into evaporater chamber, so evaporater is remove the watery contents from juice and make drak and thick syrup. Moreover, it goes in to centrifuge to separate sugar crystal from syrup and then it will go for draying and cooling process. Drying and cooling process give shape to sugar crystal and it is ready to sell in market.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages of sugar production from growing to the final drying and cooling process. However, some stages are more fully developed than others. For instance, the initial steps like growing and harvesting are covered well, but details regarding the chemical or physical transformation in later stages are slightly under-developed or vague, such as mentioning that juice is purified by a limestone filter and 'use some chemicals'. The overview presented in the introduction is also quite basic. To reach a higher band, the writer would need to provide a clearer, more extended overview and ensure all stages of the process are described with equal depth and precision, avoiding vague generalizations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a logical sequence following the 7-step diagram from left to right. The writer uses basic cohesive devices such as 'firstly', 'Afterwards', and 'Moreover' to signal progression between paragraphs. However, paragraphing is somewhat disjointed, and referencing is not always clear, as seen in transitions like 'then it gose to crusher' and 'then it will go for crushing'. The use of cohesive devices can occasionally feel mechanical or repetitive. To achieve a higher level, the writer should employ a wider range of cohesive features more flexibly and ensure that paragraphs are structured with clearer thematic focus and seamless linking between sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items such as 'industirial', 'evaporator', 'centrifuge', and 'crystal'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors ('industirial', 'begains', 'gose', 'evaporater', 'draying', 'purifying', 'cantaminats', 'crystal') and some awkward word choices or forms, such as 'Juice is purifying' instead of 'Juice is purified' and 'harvest manually by farmers'. These errors do not seriously impede communication, but they restrict the score. To improve lexical resource, the writer needs to expand their control of spelling, ensure correct word forms are used, and incorporate more precise collocations related to industrial processes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting structures like passive voice and subordinate clauses. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly with verb forms, subject-verb agreement, and articles (e.g., 'sugar cane be matured', 'it is harvested by big equipments', 'purified juice takes palce', 'evaporator is remove'). Punctuation is also weak, with run-on sentences joined by commas rather than proper conjunctions or full stops. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they prevent the writing from attaining a higher band. To progress, the writer must focus on mastering basic sentence boundaries, verb tense consistency, and accurate grammatical structures.

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

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