Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-21

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 diagram illustrates the information about the production of sugar from sugar cane.

Overall, there are seven main stages involved in this process. It beginning with the growth of sugar canes in the field and ending with the development of final product resulting in the form of sugar.

Initially,sugar canes begins to grow in the field then it go through the harvesting stage where farmers collect all the material with the help of machinary and crushed it which resulting in the form of juice . After that they purify that juice in a limestone filter to remove all the impurities.

Subsequently, in the fifth step evaporator is used is heating process to make a juice in the form of syrup. In the next stage, they separates the sugar crystals from syrup by using centrifuge spinner. Finally, they dry their product and leave it for cooling so that they can get their sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as having seven stages and give a relevant overview from cane growth to the finished sugar. The main sequence is mostly covered, including crushing, limestone filtration, evaporation, centrifuging, and drying/cooling. However, some important details are missing or unclear: the diagram specifies that growing takes 12–18 months, and harvesting can be done either mechanically or by hand. The opening stages are also compressed into one sentence, making it difficult to tell that harvesting and crushing are separate steps. To strengthen the response, report these distinguishing details and describe each stage accurately and clearly, while keeping the overview focused on the process’s start and end.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by stages in process order, with paragraph breaks that help separate the overview from the details. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “After that,” “Subsequently,” and “Finally” guide the reader through the stages. However, some links are mechanical, and the long sentence beginning “Initially” combines growing, harvesting, and crushing, obscuring the progression between them. The reference in “they purify that juice” also shifts to an unspecified “they.” Use one or two sentences for each group of stages and make the connections between steps more precise, so the sequence remains easy to follow without relying mainly on transition words.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “limestone filter,” “evaporator,” “syrup,” “sugar crystals,” and “centrifuge,” which helps communicate the main stages. The range is adequate for describing this diagram, but several choices are imprecise or awkward: “development of final product” is less natural than “production of the final product,” and “centrifuge spinner” is not the appropriate term. “Machinary” is also misspelled, and “material” is vague for sugar cane. Aim for accurate process nouns and natural collocations, such as “cane,” “harvested,” and “centrifuge.” More precise vocabulary would make the description clearer and reduce the need for general phrases such as “all the material.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the overall meaning is generally understandable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence construction recur. For example, “It beginning” needs a finite verb (“It begins”), while “sugar canes begins” has a subject–verb agreement error. In “then it go through,” the verb form is incorrect, and “is used is heating process” contains a faulty structure. The sentence beginning “Initially” also runs several stages together, with unclear clause connections. Use a consistent present simple for process descriptions, check singular and plural subjects, and separate stages into complete sentences. These corrections would improve accuracy while preserving your attempts at varied sentence forms.

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