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 process of making sugar from sugar cane is really time consuming. Farmers first level the land for farming of sugarcane. The land must be fertile for the plants to grow healthy. The sugarcane seeds are planted into the land. These seeds take nearly 12-18 months to grow into plants starting from tiny leaves to full grown plants. After the sugar cane are ready to harvest, farmers uses two methodsn of harvesting; harvesting by man labor or by machines. Mainly machine harvesting is suitable. After harvesting, the sugarcane plants are crushed. As a result, the juices of thses plants is collected. Then this juice is purified by using a purifier. Mainly the purifier used is limestone filter. After purification, the juice is evaporated to convert into syrup.The temprature of evaporator is very high. The sugar grains along with syrup are centrifuged to seperate them. After centrifugation, the grains are seperated called sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main stages from growing through harvesting, crushing, purification, evaporation and centrifuging, and you correctly include the 12–18-month growing period and the limestone filter. However, the task is only partly covered because there is no clear overview of the process as a whole, and the final drying and cooling stage is omitted. Some details are also added without support from the diagram, such as levelling the land, soil fertility, planting seeds, and the evaporator’s temperature being very high. The diagram shows sugar cane growing, but not how it is planted or how the land is prepared. Focus on the stages shown and summarise the overall sequence, including the final production of sugar.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages are generally presented in the correct order, and linking phrases such as “After harvesting,” “As a result,” and “Then” help the reader follow the process. This gives the response a basic progression. However, the writing is one continuous paragraph, and the opening discussion of land preparation delays the description of the diagram’s actual sequence. Some links are repetitive, while the transition from centrifuging to the final product is unclear. Organise the response into a brief overview and a logically grouped description of the stages. Use sequence markers selectively, and make the relationship between separating the crystals and obtaining the finished sugar explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvesting,” “crushed,” “purified,” “evaporated,” and “centrifuged,” which helps communicate the main operations. There is some variation in how you refer to the material, such as “juice” and “syrup.” However, several word choices are imprecise or unnatural: “harvesting by man labor,” “the juices of these plants,” and “the grains are separated called sugar.” Spelling errors such as “thses,” “temprature,” “seperate,” and “seperated” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise process terms and natural collocations, for example, “manual harvesting,” “the juice is collected,” and “sugar crystals are separated.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a few longer structures, including “These seeds take nearly 12–18 months to grow into plants” and “After the sugar cane are ready to harvest,” alongside shorter sentences. The sequence remains mostly understandable, but errors in agreement and sentence construction are frequent enough to limit control. For example, “the sugar cane are ready” should use a singular or plural subject consistently, and “farmers uses” should be “farmers use.” In “the juices of these plants is collected,” the subject and verb do not agree; “the juice is collected” is clearer. There are also punctuation and spacing problems, such as the missing space after “syrup.” Practise accurate simple clauses before adding complex forms.

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