Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-20

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 illustration gives information about different stages involved in the production of sugar from sugar cane plant .Overall, manufacturing process of sugar has 7 stages and first three stages are general .

It is quite evident from the diagram that in the first stage is growing the sugar cane plant which required about 12 to 18 months .after long period of growth harvested by mean of labour and machine .Furthermore, the collected sugar cane crush with the help of machine which convert it into juice and waste .

Meanwhile , after collecting juice from the machine it purify with help of limestone filter .furthermore, the purify juice converted into syrup form after putting into the evaporator by applying some heat . however, a centrifuge separates the sugar crystals from the syrup . at the end all the separated sugar collected from the centrifuge putt into the drying chamber and to cool the sugar crystals .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main stages in the correct order, from growing the cane for 12–18 months through harvesting, crushing, purification, evaporation, centrifuging and drying/cooling. The overview identifies seven stages, and you include both harvesting methods and the key change from juice to syrup and then sugar crystals. This makes the response relevant and broadly complete. However, the overview’s claim that the first three stages are “general” does not explain the process’s main transformation, and some details are unclear or unsupported: crushing is said to produce “juice and waste,” while the diagram only labels juice, and the final stage is described as a “drying chamber,” which is not specified. A clearer overview of the conversion from cane to sugar, with more precise stage descriptions, would strengthen the report.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the process in a generally logical sequence, and the paragraph break separates the opening overview from the stage-by-stage account. Sequencing expressions such as “in the first stage,” “Furthermore,” “Meanwhile,” and “at the end” help the reader follow the stages. However, several transitions are mechanical or do not clearly express the relationship between steps; for example, “Meanwhile” is used even though the process is sequential. The long second paragraph also packs many stages together, and punctuation around connectors is inconsistent, making some links harder to follow. Organise the description into clearer stages or groups and use precise links such as “Next” and “After this” to make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvested,” “limestone filter,” “evaporator,” “centrifuge,” and “sugar crystals,” which allows you to describe the diagram’s main operations. There are also attempts at more formal phrasing, such as “The illustration gives information about.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward: “harvested by mean of labour and machine,” “crush with the help of machine,” and “putting into the evaporator” do not sound natural. “General” is also imprecise for describing the first stages, and “waste” adds a detail not shown. Aim for accurate process collocations and use verbs such as “is crushed,” “is filtered,” and “is heated” consistently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “which required about 12 to 18 months” and a contrastive link before the centrifuge stage. However, errors in verb forms, articles, agreement and sentence construction occur across the response. For example, “in the first stage is growing” lacks a clear subject, “the collected sugar cane crush” needs a passive verb form, and “it purify” does not agree with its subject or use the correct passive construction. Some sentence boundaries and punctuation are also faulty, as in “plant .Overall” and the lower-case starts after full stops. Practise describing processes with accurate passive forms, such as “the cane is crushed,” and check each sentence for a subject, verb and correct tense.

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