Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-07

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 picture depicts the process of producing sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, there are seven stages that starts with the growing of sugar canes in field. At the end, the diagram shows that sugar is formed after the process of drying and cooling.

Intially, seeds of sugar cane are sowed in the soil. It takes 12-18 months for sugar canes to grow fully after which they are harvested by the farmers or by a man-made machine. The cutted sugar cane is now crushed in a machine to produce juice that is collected in a big utensil. Following it, in a purifying jar that contents limestone filter, purifys the sugarcane juice and filters out the pulp and other materials.

This filtered juice is heated on a specific temperature in a big vessel that

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the process as sugar production and correctly mention the seven stages, the 12–18-month growing period, harvesting, crushing, and juice purification. However, the report is incomplete: it stops mid-sentence at “a big vessel that” and does not describe the later stages of evaporation into syrup, centrifuging to separate sugar crystals, or drying and cooling. The overview gives the start and end broadly, but the main features are not fully reported. Some details are also unsupported or inaccurate: the diagram does not show seeds being sown, farmers, pulp being filtered out, or a specific heating temperature. The response is also below the required 150 words. To improve, cover every stage and restrict details to what the diagram shows.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a chronological body paragraph. Sequencing expressions such as “Overall,” “Initially,” “after which,” and “Following it” help the reader follow the process. The order of the stages described is generally clear. However, the final sentence is unfinished, so the progression breaks off before the process reaches its conclusion. The body also places several stages in one long paragraph, and “Following it” does not clearly signal the relationship between purification and the next step. Use a separate paragraph for the later processing stages and complete the sequence, with clear links such as “The purified juice is then heated…” and “Finally…”. This would make the organisation more complete and cohesion less dependent on a few sequencing phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of process vocabulary, including “harvested,” “crushed,” “produce juice,” and “limestone filter,” which makes the topic clear. There are also attempts at more specific wording, such as “purifying jar” and “big vessel,” though these are not precise or natural choices for the diagram. Several word-form or spelling errors reduce accuracy: “Intially,” “cutted,” and “purifys.” “Utensil” is also an unsuitable label for the container. Prefer standard process terms such as “container,” “purification,” and “evaporator,” and use the diagram’s terminology where possible. The vocabulary is adequate to describe the stages attempted, but more accurate collocations and forms are needed for clearer, more natural reporting.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You use both simple sentences and some longer structures, for example, “It takes 12-18 months… after which they are harvested,” showing an attempt to vary sentence patterns. Meaning is generally understandable, but some grammatical errors remain. In the overview, “seven stages that starts” has a subject–verb agreement error; use “seven stages that start.” “Seeds … are sowed” has an awkward passive construction, and “a purifying jar that contents limestone filter” is not grammatically well formed; a clearer version would be “a purification container containing a limestone filter.” The final sentence is incomplete, ending with “that,” which prevents the reader from understanding the intended clause. Check agreement, clause construction, and sentence completion, while retaining the useful mix of simple and complex forms.

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