Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-06

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 6.0)

The picture diagram illustrates the making process of sugar from sugar cane.

First and foremost step is to harvest sugarcanes that take 12 to 18 months to grow. Upon harvesting, the leaves are cut and the sticks or canes are taken for the next step. The canes are then passed through a roller-like machine to extract the juice.

The juice is then filtered and purified via limestone filter which is heated up next. Evaporation occurs and the fresh juice thickens to become syrup. The syrup is then put into a centrifuge machine that spins at a high speed around a central axis, which helps to separate sugar crystals from the syrup.

At the end, the sugar crystals are kept aside to dry and cool down. This is the final step to the sugar manufacturing process.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You describe the main stages from harvesting through drying and cooling, and correctly include the 12–18-month growing period, limestone filtration, evaporation and separation of sugar crystals. However, the account does not give a clear overview of the process as a whole, and it omits the initial growing stage as a distinct first step. Some details are unsupported or inaccurate: the diagram does not show leaves being cut, and it shows heat applied during evaporation rather than the purified juice being heated before that stage. The response also contains 135 words, below the required 150, so the process is only partially reported. Add a concise overview and cover all seven stages accurately, including the two harvesting methods.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised in a clear sequence, with each paragraph moving the reader through successive parts of the process. Linking expressions such as “Upon harvesting,” “The juice is then,” and “At the end” help signal progression, and the final sentence clearly identifies the endpoint. This logical organisation is a strength. To make the progression more complete, introduce the process with an overview and use paragraphing to distinguish the growing and harvesting stages from the later processing stages. Some transitions currently compress or blur steps—for example, the move from filtration to heating—so make the relationship between each stage explicit. Overall, the sequence is easy to follow, though the links could be more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “extract,” “filtered,” “evaporation,” “centrifuge,” and “sugar crystals.” These terms communicate the technical stages clearly, and “thickens to become syrup” is an effective description of the change in the juice. There is some flexibility beyond basic vocabulary, but a few choices are imprecise or informal for an academic process description. “Picture diagram” is redundant, “roller-like machine” is less exact than the diagram’s crusher, and “kept aside” is not a natural description of the final drying and cooling stage. “Fresh juice” also adds a quality not shown in the visual. Use concise, accurate process terms and avoid adding descriptive details that the diagram does not support.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, and most of the process is expressed in understandable sentences. The relative clause in “a centrifuge machine that spins at a high speed” and the sequence of passive constructions show some range. Some grammatical errors remain, however. “First and foremost step is to harvest” is missing an article and has an awkward structure; “sugarcanes” should be written as two words in this context. In “The juice is then filtered and purified via limestone filter which is heated up next,” the relative clause is unclear and makes the sequence difficult to interpret. Aim for clearer sentence boundaries and accurate articles, for example, “The juice is purified through a limestone filter before being heated in an evaporator.”

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.