Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05

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 6.5)

This linear process illustrates how sugar is produced from sugar cane in several steps.

Overall, the process includes total of seven stages starting it from harvesting plenty of grown sugar canes from the field and finishing at drying and cooling of sugar crystals.

In the begining, it takes 12 to 18 months to grow sugar canes in the field. Followed by, these grown and matured sugar canes get harvested manually or by professional machines. In next step, harvested canes goes through the crushing process in which sugar canes gets crushed to the level of seperating it from juice.

In the following step, the sugar cane's juice goes through limestone filteration, which makes it pure. After that, in order to make this juice to syrup there is evaporation process which involves heating. Later, syrup goes from a centrifuge which seperates sugar cystal from syrup, and in the final stage sugar crystals gets dried and cooled.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and summarizing the main stages of the sugar cane manufacturing process, from growing to drying and cooling. The overall trend and sequence are appropriately identified, noting the initial 12 to 18 months growing period and the seven subsequent steps depicted in the diagram. While the main features are highlighted, some parts of the process could be slightly more extended or elaborated to fully achieve the highest level. For instance, the dual harvesting methods (manual and mechanical) are mentioned, but their transition into the crushing stage could be more fully developed. Overall, the response presents a clear and coherent picture of the visual data.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response maintains a clear logical organization and progression throughout. The writing is divided into logical paragraphs that separate the introduction, overall summary, and the sequential steps of the process. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well to guide the reader through the stages, such as phrases like 'In the begining', 'Followed by', and 'In the following step'. However, there is a minor tendency for some transitions to feel slightly mechanical, such as 'In next step' and 'Later, syrup goes from a centrifuge', which prevents the cohesion from being entirely natural and fluid. Paragraphing is used sufficiently, and the overall arrangement ensures the process can be followed easily.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, providing a sufficient range of terms related to manufacturing processes, such as 'linear process', 'harvested', 'crushing', 'limestone filteration', 'evaporation', and 'centrifuge'. The student attempts less common vocabulary items like 'matured' and 'crystals', but there are occasional errors in word form, spelling, and word choice that prevent the score from being higher. Examples of inaccuracies include 'begining' (spelling), 'filteration' (spelling), and awkward collocations like 'goes from a centrifuge' instead of 'passes through a centrifuge'. These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight the need for greater precision in lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and participial phrases such as 'starting it from harvesting' and 'in which sugar canes gets crushed'. However, there is a lack of consistent control over grammatical structures and agreements, leading to frequent non-impeding errors. Noticeable issues include subject-verb agreement errors like 'harvested canes goes' and 'sugar crystals gets', missing articles such as 'involving heating' and 'there is evaporation process', and minor prepositional mistakes. While these errors rarely impede communication and the basic meaning remains clear, the presence of these recurring mistakes keeps the grammatical score at this level.

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