Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-06

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows the process for recycling plastic bottles.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

How plastic bottles are recycled

Student answer (Band 6.5)

The diagram shows how plastic bottles are recycled.

Overall, there are nine stages from the collection of the bottles from recycling bins to the production of end products. This is a cyclical sequence, and starts from the beginning after the final stage.

First, plastic bottles are taken from recycling bins of people in the community. These are then transported in a recycling truck to a recycling center. At the recycling center the bottles are sorted into reusable and non-resuable plastic. They are then compressed into blocks.

Following this, the blocks are crushed into water for washing. Next, the clean crushed plastic is put into a machine to make plastic pellets. After this,these plastic pellets are heated to make the raw material for the end products. These raw materials are then used to produce end products like shirts, pens T-shirts and bottles. When these products are disposed of, the cycle will begin again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main sequence accurately, from bottles being placed in bins through sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating, to the manufacture of new products. The overview also identifies the nine stages and the cyclical nature of the process, which gives the reader a clear account of its overall structure. This meets the task well, with some features more fully reported than others: for example, the sorting stage is described, but the diagram’s separation into accepted and rejected bottles is not made explicit. The final products are also only partly represented; the diagram includes food containers and a carrier bag as well as clothing and bottles. More precise coverage of these details would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised in a clear progression: an introduction and overview are followed by the stages in sequence, with a final sentence returning to the cycle. Connectors such as “First,” “Following this,” “Next,” and “After this” help the reader follow the process, and the paragraphing separates the overview from the detailed account. Cohesion is generally effective, though the repeated use of simple sequencing markers makes the progression somewhat mechanical. The reference in “These raw materials” is understandable, but the transition from heating the pellets to the products could be made more explicit by stating that the raw material is used to manufacture them. Varying transitions and clarifying this link would make the flow more flexible.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “transported,” “sorted,” “compressed,” “crushed,” and “heated,” and these choices communicate the stages clearly. Some wording is imprecise or repetitive, however. “Crushed into water for washing” does not describe the diagram as naturally as saying that the crushed plastic is washed, and “shirts, pens T-shirts and bottles” is an awkward, partly repetitive list. There are also spelling and form issues in “non-resuable” and “recycling center”; the latter is understandable, but consistency in spelling conventions would help. Aim for more precise process collocations and a concise, accurate list of end products to demonstrate greater control of vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes a mix of simple and more complex forms, such as the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the conditional time clause “When these products are disposed of, the cycle will begin again.” Most sentences are easy to understand, and passive constructions suit a process description. Some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. In “After this,these plastic pellets,” a space is missing after the comma; “like shirts, pens T-shirts and bottles” also needs clearer punctuation and sentence structure. The phrase “the cycle will begin again” is understandable, though the diagram shows the process returning to bottle disposal rather than specifying what happens to every product. More careful proofreading and a wider range of accurately controlled complex sentences would improve grammatical precision.

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