Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-17

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 given diagram illustrate the making process of sugar from sugar cane.

Sugar canes growing for 12 to 18 months until it is ready for harvesting. The step after this sugar canes is then cut by hand or use the harvesting machine. Then it placed in sugar machine to crushed its juice. The following step is to purify the juice using limestone filter and remove the useless materials.

In the next stage, the juice of sugar cans is boild in evaporator until it becomes a liquid syrup. Syrup is passes through the centrifuge to remove the sugar crystals from the liquid syrup. In the next step, sugar is dried and cooled unitil it becomes a crystals. in the last step it is ready for use.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the main stages in the correct order, including growing, harvesting by hand or machine, crushing, filtering, evaporation, centrifuging, and drying and cooling. The growing period of 12–18 months is also accurately reported. However, the response is short of the required 150 words, and the process is only minimally described: there is no clear overview of the process as a whole, and several stages receive little explanation. For example, the account does not explain that crushing extracts juice or that the centrifuge separates sugar crystals from syrup. The final claim that the sugar is “ready for use” is not shown in the diagram. Add a concise overview and more precise detail about the inputs, outputs, and purpose of each stage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The stages are presented in a generally logical sequence, and paragraphing separates the opening from the process description. Sequencing expressions such as “The step after this,” “In the next stage,” and “In the next step” help the reader follow the production line. However, these links are somewhat repetitive and mechanical, and the opening does not provide a distinct overview before the details begin. Some references are also unclear, as in “Then it placed in sugar machine,” where the subject and the machine are not clearly identified. Group the stages into a clearer introduction, overview, and detailed account, and use more varied links or direct references to the juice, syrup, and sugar.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvesting,” “limestone filter,” “evaporator,” “syrup,” and “centrifuge,” which helps communicate the main stages. There is some repetition of basic terms such as “step” and “sugar,” and several word-choice or spelling problems reduce precision: “sugar machine” is vague, “useless materials” is not an appropriate description of impurities, and “sugar cans” appears where you mean sugar cane. Errors such as “boild” and “unitil” also affect the accuracy of the vocabulary. Aim for precise process language and check spelling and word forms. For instance, describe the crusher and the removal of impurities directly rather than relying on general or informal wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly simple sentence patterns, with a few attempts to connect stages using “until” and “after.” Meaning is generally recoverable, but frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction make several sentences awkward. For example, “Sugar canes growing” needs a finite verb, while “Then it placed” lacks an auxiliary and has an unclear subject. “Syrup is passes” combines incompatible verb forms, and “until it becomes a crystals” has an article–plural mismatch. There is also inconsistent capitalisation after a full stop. Practise accurate present-simple passive forms for process descriptions, such as “the juice is heated” and “the crystals are separated,” before adding more complex structures.

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