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 depicts manufacturing steps for making refined sugar from sugar cane.

The 7 steps proccess begings with farmer farming suger canes nad ends with the production od sugar. This is achieved by turning sugar canes in to liquid that can be later turned into sugar crystals and saparates dry sugar.

The process starts with the growing sugar canes which take 12 to 18 months, which are then cut by farmers. In next step sugar cans go through crushing process to convert sugar cane into juice form by machine after this steps using limestone filter sugar cane juice go through with filtering process for further process.

At step 5, purifying juice go through with evaporator process, and in results juice becomes syrup. The substance is then placed into a machine which separates refined sugar from syrup that can then be drying and cooling to produce the Table sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as seven steps and include several key details, such as the 12–18-month growing period, crushing, limestone filtration, evaporation and the final drying and cooling stage. However, the overview is unclear: the claim that the process turns cane into liquid and then “separates dry sugar” does not clearly summarise the sequence or its outcome. Some details are inaccurate or imprecise: harvesting is shown as either mechanical or by hand, not simply cutting by farmers, and the centrifuge separates sugar crystals from syrup before drying and cooling. The response also falls two words short of the required minimum. To strengthen coverage, give a concise overview and describe the stages and their outputs more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic chronological structure, moving from an introduction to the growing and processing stages, and then to the final stages. This gives the reader a general sense of the sequence. However, progression is weakened by unclear links and awkward transitions, particularly in “after this steps using limestone filter” and “At step 5, purifying juice go through with evaporator process.” The second paragraph also combines several stages in one long sentence, making the relationships between them difficult to follow. Use one paragraph for the overview and another for the stages, and connect each step with clear sequencing language such as “Next,” “After filtration,” and “Finally.” Ensure references such as “the substance” clearly identify the material being described.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “crushing,” “limestone filter,” “evaporator,” “syrup,” and “sugar crystals,” so the reader can recognise the main operations. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the description difficult to understand. For example, “farmer farming” is repetitive, “sugar cane juice go through with filtering process” is not a natural way to describe filtration, and “Table sugar” is an imprecise label for the final product. There are also frequent spelling errors, including “proccess,” “begings,” “suger,” and “saparates.” Learn and use standard process phrases such as “is harvested,” “is filtered,” and “is converted into syrup,” and proofread spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a relative clause in “sugar canes which take 12 to 18 months” and a sequence of stages joined with “after this.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction frequently make the meaning hard to follow. Examples include “The 7 steps … begings,” “In next step sugar cans go through crushing process,” and “purifying juice go through with evaporator process.” The final sentence also shifts awkwardly from “is then placed” to “that can then be drying and cooling.” Practise passive forms suited to process descriptions—for example, “The juice is filtered, then heated until it becomes syrup”—and check that each clause has a clear subject and correctly formed verb.

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