Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The figure illustrates the process by which the sugar is made from the sugar cane.

Overall, the process is linear and consists of seven stages, beginning with growing the sugar canes and ending with drying and cooling the sugar.

The first step involves growing the sugar canes. It usually takes 12-18 months for growing. After that, sugar canes are harvested, either by people with the help of sickle or by the use of dozer. Following this, the sugar canes are crushed through mechanical process in a machine to make a juice.

Subsequently, the juice is purified in the limestone filter so that the impurity can be separated. After that, juice is heated in the evaporator to make the sugar syrup. At the sixth stage, it is passed to the centifugal process, from which the sugar crystal is separated from the syrup. Finally, the refined sugar is left for drying and cooling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response gives a clear overview of the seven-stage linear process, correctly identifying growing as the first stage and drying and cooling as the final one. It also includes the 12–18-month growing period and both harvesting methods, and describes the main transformations from cane to juice, syrup, crystals and sugar. This covers the key features accurately. To make the account more fully developed, clarify the role of the limestone filter and the centrifuge: the filter purifies the juice, while the centrifuge separates sugar crystals from the remaining syrup. Calling the final product “refined sugar” adds a detail not shown in the diagram; simply “sugar” would be more precise. Overall, the main stages are selected and reported clearly, with only minor imprecision in describing some operations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is arranged in a clear sequence, and the paragraphing separates the overview from the stage-by-stage account. Linking expressions such as “After that,” “Following this,” “Subsequently,” and “Finally” help the reader follow the process from cultivation to the finished product. The progression is easy to understand throughout. However, the repeated use of time-sequence markers makes some transitions feel formulaic, and “At the sixth stage” is less smooth than a direct link to the centrifuge. You could vary the connections by using references such as “The resulting juice” or “Once purified,” which would also make the relationships between stages more explicit. The organisation is effective; more flexible cohesion would make it more polished.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The response uses an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “harvested,” “crushed,” “purified,” “evaporator,” and “syrup,” so the stages are generally easy to identify. Some less precise or inaccurate choices limit the range’s effectiveness. “Dozer” does not accurately name the mechanical harvester shown, “sickle” is not specified in the diagram, and “centifugal process” is an inaccurate spelling and form for “centrifuge.” Phrases such as “for growing” and “make a juice” are also less natural than standard process descriptions. These choices do not prevent understanding, but more accurate technical terms and natural collocations would improve precision. Aim to describe only what the diagram labels or clearly depicts.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

There is a useful mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview sentence with “beginning with … and ending with …” and the clause “either … or …”. Most sentences communicate the sequence clearly, and the present simple is generally appropriate for describing a process. Some grammatical inaccuracies remain. “It usually takes 12-18 months for growing” uses an awkward construction; write “Growing the sugar cane takes 12–18 months.” In “the impurity can be separated,” the singular form is not well matched to the general meaning, and “juice is heated” would be clearer with an article or determiner. These are local issues rather than barriers to meaning. More consistent control of articles, number, and sentence patterns would strengthen accuracy.

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