Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-04

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 process diagram illustrates the manufacturing process for making sugar from sugar can.

Overall, it is a seven- stage man made, linear process. It begins with growing sugar canes and harvesting them and crushing them to produce juice and finally result in sugar bing delivered.

The first stage was growing sugar cannes palnt for 12 to 18 month and harvesting them by a mechine or by a person. After that, sugar cannes was added ito crushing machine to produced juice and the juice gose to the purifying mechine which is know as limetone filter. Followed by, the juice was been delivered into evaportator which has a heat in below down that make juice to thick syrup.

In the stage that follows, the syrup was added into centrifuge machine which, separates sugar crystals from syrup. At final stage, the syrup was added into a drying and cooling chamber which produce sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response is slightly under the word count requirement, falling short of the 150-word minimum by 8 words. Regarding task content, the student attempts to describe all seven stages of the sugar manufacturing process, providing a basic overview and identifying main features such as growing, harvesting, crushing, purifying, evaporating, centrifuging, and drying. However, the development of ideas is limited and some stages are expressed simplistically, such as 'finally result in sugar bing delivered'. While the main steps are mentioned, the lack of full development and the failure to meet the minimum word length prevent the response from achieving a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response shows some basic organisation, dividing the text into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that follow the chronological sequence of the diagram. However, there is no clear overall progression due to mechanical and inaccurate use of cohesive devices, such as 'Followed by, the juice was been delivered' and 'In the stage that follows'. Paragraphing is also somewhat erratic, with the overview lumped into the second paragraph. Referencing and logical transitions between sentences feel disjointed at times, pulling down the overall flow of the report.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student attempts some less common technical items related to the diagram, such as 'centrifuge machine', 'limestone filter', and 'evaporator', but these are accompanied by noticeable spelling and word choice errors, including 'can', 'cannes', 'palnt', 'mechine', 'ito', 'produced', 'gose', 'know', 'evaportator', and 'bing'. These persistent errors in spelling and word form occasionally cause difficulty for the reader and reflect a restricted lexical range.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences and basic active or passive constructions. Attempts at complex or passive structures are frequently faulty, leading to significant errors such as 'the juice was been delivered', 'has a heat in below down that make juice to thick syrup', and 'the syrup was added into a drying and cooling chamber which produce sugar'. Frequent errors in verb forms, prepositions, subject-verb agreement, and missing articles are present throughout the text and frequently cause strain and difficulty for the reader.

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