Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-29

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 diagram depicts how sugar manufactured from sugar cane following several steps.

Overall, the process involves seven stages starting from growing sugar cane to drying and cooling sugar in the final stage. Most of the steps carried out for purifying the juice to extract impurities from juice prodeced from sugar canes.

In its initial stage, sugar canes grow in the field and the growing of sugar canes takes approximatley 12 to 18 months. Once the canes has grown appropriately canes are harvested either using machine or by hands. After harvesting, a machine crushes the canes to extract the juice from them. Following this process, a limestone filter uses to purify the juice. Afterwards, a evaporator uses to heat the juice, which allow the juice to convert intro syrup.

In the next steps, syrup undergoes centrifugation process to separate the crystals from syrup. Syrup is dried and cooled and finally the sugar is formed.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response covers the process from cultivation through to the final sugar, and its overview correctly identifies seven stages and the 12–18-month growing period. It also reports the two harvesting methods and the main transformations: crushing produces juice, heating turns it into syrup, and centrifugation separates crystals. These details make the account relevant and clear. However, the overview’s claim that “most of the steps” are for purifying juice and extracting impurities is not a precise summary of the process; the later stages also concentrate, separate, dry and cool the product. The final description also blurs the sequence by saying the syrup is dried and cooled, rather than the separated sugar crystals. A more exact overview and final-stage account would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall progression, with an overview followed by stages in sequence, and paragraphing separates the summary from the process details. Sequencing expressions such as “In its initial stage,” “After harvesting,” and “In the next steps” help the reader follow the diagram. This is a coherent arrangement, though cohesion is not always smooth: “Following this process” and “Afterwards” are used in close succession, and the final two stages are compressed into one sentence, making the relationship between separation and drying less clear. Some references, such as “them” and “the juice,” are understandable but could be more precise. Use a wider range of linking methods and give the final stages their own clear progression to make the flow more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The response uses an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “harvested,” “crushes,” “limestone filter,” “evaporator,” and “centrifugation.” These terms communicate the main operations, and “convert into syrup” shows an attempt to describe a transformation. However, several word-choice and collocation problems reduce precision: “purifying the juice to extract impurities from juice” is repetitive and awkward, while “sugar is formed” is less exact than describing the crystals as the final product. There are also spelling errors in “prodeced” and “approximatley,” and “by hands” is not idiomatic. Aim for more precise process language and check spelling and natural collocations; this would make the vocabulary more controlled without needing unnecessarily complex terms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts a mix of simple and complex structures, including the time clause “Once the canes has grown appropriately” and the relative clause describing the evaporator. Meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors remain across the passage. For example, the opening needs a passive construction (“how sugar is manufactured”), “the canes has grown” has subject–verb disagreement, and “a limestone filter uses to purify” and “a evaporator uses to heat” omit the required passive form. The clause “which allow the juice to convert” also has agreement and verb-pattern problems. Work on passive forms, articles, agreement and verb complements, especially when describing machinery and stages. More accurate control of these patterns would improve the range already attempted.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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