Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-24

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 given graph illustrates the procedure of preparing sugar by proceesing sugar cane.

Overall, the process is not much difficult if followed by all steps. There are only 7 steps which converts sugar cane into sugar, growing sugar cane plant is the first step.

Firstly, preparing of a sugar cane from seed takes around 12 to 18 months, which are then harvested using hands or machines. The next step includes crushing of sugar cane which turns it into juice. The juice is purified using limestone filter and after that an evaporator is used. Heat is applied to filtered juice in evaporator, juice is heated to boil the water and this turns juice into a syrup. A seprator machine called centifuge is used, as it seprates sugar crystals from syrup, Lastly, after drying and cooling of the seleted crystals, sugar is ready to pack or consume.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main sequence from growing and harvesting through crushing, purification, evaporation, centrifuging, and final drying and cooling. The 12–18-month growing period and the two harvesting methods are also reported accurately. However, the overview is partly evaluative—“not much difficult”—rather than summarising the process’s key features, and “preparing … from seed” is not shown in the diagram. The final claim that sugar is ready “to pack or consume” is also not provided. The response is 145 words, below the required 150. To strengthen the report, give a concise factual overview, avoid adding unsupported details, and include a little more relevant description of how the stages transform cane into sugar.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The stages are presented in a generally logical order, and sequencing expressions such as “Firstly,” “The next step,” “after that,” and “Lastly” help the reader follow the process. The paragraphing into an introduction, overview, and process description gives the response a recognisable structure. However, the overview repeats the number of steps and first stage without clearly summarising the overall transformation, while the final process sentence is overloaded with several actions. The capitalised “Lastly” after a comma also disrupts the flow. Use clearer paragraph boundaries for the overview and detailed stages, and connect each stage with precise references so the progression feels less like a list.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvested,” “crushing,” “limestone filter,” “evaporator,” “syrup,” and “sugar crystals,” which makes the stages identifiable. There are also attempts at more specific terms, such as “centrifuge.” However, several spelling errors—“proceesing,” “seprates,” “centifuge,” and “seleted”—are noticeable, and some expressions are imprecise or unnatural: “preparing of a sugar cane,” “not much difficult,” and “ready to pack or consume.” Prefer accurate process collocations such as “sugar cane is grown” and “the crystals are dried and cooled.” A broader set of precise verbs for the transformations would improve clarity and reduce repetition of “used” and “step.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response includes both simple statements and longer sentences, and most of the process remains understandable. Some grammatical errors are evident, however. In “There are only 7 steps which converts,” the plural subject requires “convert”; “preparing of a sugar cane … which are then harvested” has an unclear reference and agreement; and “juice is heated to boil the water” needs a clearer grammatical construction, such as “the juice is heated, causing the water to evaporate.” The final sentence also joins clauses awkwardly, with a comma before “Lastly” and an unclear “after drying and cooling of” structure. Practise accurate relative clauses, agreement, and sentence boundaries while retaining a mix of simple and complex forms.

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