Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-25

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 images below show the process of making sugar and how it is produced from sugar cane.

Overall, the process is very simple but it is very time consuming because the initial stage of the process and the final stages are very costly and time taking.

At the initial stage of the process the farmer plants seeds of sugar cane and wait for 18 months for it to grow but then the farmers harvest the sugar cane by cutting or it can be done with a modern machine. Afterwards the process of crushing begins where the sugar cane gets crushed into juice which is then purified using a limestone filter which then gets evaporated and juice gets transformed into syrup and then a Centriuge which separates sugar crystals from syrup. At final stage the process continues in Drying and cooling of sugar then it finally gets transformed Sugar. This process is very easy and simple but it is done in each and every region.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence from growing and harvesting through crushing, purification, evaporation, centrifuging, and drying and cooling, and you correctly mention the 12–18-month growing period and the two harvesting methods. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the diagram shows sugar cane being grown, not seeds being planted, and it does not say the process is costly, very simple, or carried out in every region. The overview should focus on the key features of the diagram, such as the seven-stage, linear process and the transformation of cane into sugar. The final stage is also described imprecisely: drying and cooling produce the sugar, rather than the process then transforming it into sugar.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has an overall sequence that follows the diagram, and the opening, overview, and process description give it a basic structure. Time and sequence markers such as “At the initial stage,” “Afterwards,” and “At final stage” help the reader follow the stages. However, most of the process is compressed into one long paragraph and a single extended sentence, so the stages and their relationships are not always easy to distinguish. The overview also introduces unsupported comments about cost and simplicity, interrupting the focus on the process. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the main stages, and divide the sequence into shorter sentences with clear links between each step.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvest,” “crushing,” “purified,” “evaporated,” “syrup,” and “sugar crystals,” which allows the main stages to be understood. However, some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or repetitive: “time consuming” and “time taking” repeat the same idea, while “transformed Sugar” is not a natural way to describe the final product. “Centriuge” is misspelled, and “the images below” is unsuitable for describing a single process diagram. Aim for precise process language, such as “the cane is processed,” “the juice is heated,” and “the crystals are dried and cooled.” Avoid unsupported evaluative terms such as “very easy and simple.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and complex forms, including a relative clause in “a Centriuge which separates sugar crystals from syrup” and a sequence linked with “where” and “which.” However, control is uneven, particularly in the long sentence describing several stages. There are errors in agreement and verb forms: “the farmer plants … and wait” should be “waits,” and “the farmers harvest” shifts awkwardly from the singular subject. Articles and sentence construction also need attention in “At final stage” and “it finally gets transformed Sugar.” Use passive forms consistently for a process, and break the sequence into shorter sentences. This would make the relationships between stages clearer while reducing errors in complex sentences.

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