Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-13

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 presented process diagram illustrates how the sugar is produced from sugarcane.

Overall, it is apparent that there are seven requisite stages starting from growing sugar, harvesting it by using machines and humans, purifying it's juice, separating its crystal from syrup and then finnally drying and cooling.

First of all, sugarcane is grown in between 12 to 18 months, when it becames mature, it is harvested by using combines or humans.After that, the process which is known as crushing takes place, sugar is crushed in order to pour juice with the help of crusher.The next step is purifying, the juice is purified into limestone filter.

Furthermore,the juice becomes syrup by heating the juice, this if called After evaporation, sugar crystals are separated from syrup which means centrifuge. Consequently, crystals of sugar are dried and cooled into large box.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as having seven stages and include the main sequence from growing cane through harvesting, crushing, purification, evaporation, separation, and drying. The stated growing period is accurate, and you mention both machine and human harvesting. However, some descriptions are unclear or inaccurate: “sugar is crushed” should be cane, and the limestone filter purifies the juice rather than turning it “into” a filter. The final stage is described as a “large box,” which is not specified in the diagram. The overview also lists stages but could more clearly summarise the transformation from cane to sugar. The response is 12 words below the required minimum, limiting the detail provided. Develop the stages more precisely and meet the stated length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable overall progression: an introduction and overview are followed by a sequence of process details. Connectors such as “First of all,” “After that,” “Furthermore,” and “Consequently” help signal order. However, the progression becomes less clear in the final section: “this if called After evaporation” is difficult to follow, and the relationship between evaporation and centrifuging is not expressed cleanly. Some sentences also run together, as in “humans.After that,” while the paragraphing does not clearly separate the overview from the detailed stages. Use one paragraph for the overview and one or two for the process, and make each transition express the next stage without inserting unrelated phrasing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvested,” “crushing,” “purifying,” “evaporation,” and “centrifuge,” which allows the reader to recognise most stages. There is some useful variation in describing the process, but several word choices and forms are inaccurate or unnatural: “sugarcane” is more appropriately written as “sugar cane” here, “combines” should be “combine harvesters,” and “large box” is not a precise description of the drying equipment shown. “Sugar crystals” is clearer than “its crystal.” Spelling errors such as “finnally” and “becames” also reduce accuracy. Build precision by using the diagram’s terms consistently and choosing verbs that describe each action, such as “extract,” “filter,” and “separate.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including the overview clause “Overall, it is apparent that…” and the time clause beginning “when it…”. The sequence is generally understandable, but some errors in sentence construction and punctuation make parts difficult to read. For example, “when it becames mature, it is harvested” shifts awkwardly between tenses, and “Furthermore,the juice becomes syrup by heating the juice, this if called After evaporation” joins ideas incorrectly and contains a faulty clause. There are also missing spaces after full stops and commas, and the apostrophe in “it's juice” is not appropriate for the possessive form. Use present simple consistently for process descriptions and separate each stage into a complete, correctly punctuated sentence.

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