Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The diagram illustrates the manufacturing process for making sugar from sugar cane.

The process for making sugar from sugar cane rely on 7 processing step including growing, harvesting, crushing, purifying juice, evaporation, centrifuge, drying and cooling.

The first step is growing sugar canes, and it will take 1.5 year to grow. After the healthy sugar canes was harvested. A farmer can harvest the crops via two methods: Manually or with help of vehicle. Manual Harvest will take more time than the automated.

The harvested crops were transferred to the factory where with the help of crusher machine that harvested sugar canes were crushed and it will become juice. Now comes the purifying step where this juice was purified with limestone filter to remove the impurities. Evaporator were used to make syrup from the juice by using heat. Syrup is nothing but a thick slurry. Centrifuges were used to separate sugar crystals from syrup. Last step is drying and cooling where this syrup dried and cool to become sugar.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main sequence from growing sugar cane through to drying and cooling, and correctly include the 12–18-month growing period, both harvesting methods, and the limestone filter and heating stages. However, the overview is limited: it lists the stages rather than summarising the process as a whole, such as its progression from cultivation to factory processing and final sugar. Some details are inaccurate or unsupported. The diagram does not say manual harvesting takes longer, and the final stage dries and cools the separated sugar crystals, not the syrup. The explanation that syrup is “a thick slurry” is also not shown. A more precise overview and closer attention to what each stage produces would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged in a generally logical order, with paragraphs moving from the opening description and cultivation to harvesting and then factory processing. Sequencing phrases such as “The first step,” “Now comes,” and “Last step” help readers follow the process. However, the progression is sometimes mechanical, and some links between stages are unclear. For example, “After the healthy sugar canes was harvested” is an incomplete transition, while “The harvested crops were transferred to the factory” introduces a movement not explicitly shown in the diagram. Grouping the stages into a clearer overview and two process paragraphs, and using more precise references to the material at each stage, would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “crushed,” “purifying,” “limestone filter,” “evaporator,” and “separate sugar crystals.” These terms help communicate the sequence and show awareness of the topic. There are, however, some inaccurate or awkward choices that reduce precision: “vehicle” is less exact than “mechanical harvester,” “thick slurry” is not an appropriate description here, and “this syrup dried and cool” misidentifies the material at the final stage. Repetition of “sugar canes” and “juice” also limits flexibility. Choose terms that match the diagram’s labels and use natural process collocations, such as “the juice is heated to form syrup” and “the crystals are dried and cooled.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including a relative clause in “where this juice was purified” and a sequence of linked process descriptions. However, errors in agreement, tense, articles, and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some sentences awkward. For example, “The process … rely on 7 processing step” needs subject–verb agreement and a plural noun; “After the healthy sugar canes was harvested” has faulty agreement and does not form a complete sentence; and “Evaporator were used” also has incorrect agreement and lacks an article. The final clause, “this syrup dried and cool,” has inconsistent verb forms. Practise consistent present simple passive forms for process descriptions, while checking singular/plural agreement and sentence completeness.

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