Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

This diagram illustrates how plastic bottles can be recycled and reuse and produce new products.

Overall, recycling includes 9 main steps, beginning with the collection of extra bottles and after start the process, end with the production of new material and different type of products. These all product can be recycled again.

First of all, empty bottles are placed in seperate trash than a special truck reached there, put all the bottles in it. This truck leave the bottles in recycling centre where waste product can be reuse. In the next step, plastic bottles gain the shape of compressed blocks, these blocks are placed in crushing machine.

After this process, crush material are placed into water than move to machine that produce plastic pellets, after that plastic pellets are heated to form raw material.

In the next step, raw material is formed and also new product is formed in different shape. At the end, if you want to recycle these products again, you can recycle and reuse these all products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as a cycle and report several central stages, including collection, sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production, heating and the creation of new products. The overview also recognises that products can re-enter the cycle. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: bottles are not described as being placed in a separate trash, and the diagram shows sorting into accepted and rejected items before compression. The final stages are also compressed into the vague statement that raw material and new products are formed, without explaining that the raw material is used to produce items such as containers, clothing and bags. More precise coverage of these stages and a clearer overview of the transformation would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by a chronological account, with paragraphs separating the early and later stages. Sequencing phrases such as “First of all,” “In the next step,” and “After this process” help the reader follow the cycle. However, some links are awkward or unclear, particularly “beginning with the collection of extra bottles and after start the process,” and the final sentence shifts into direct address (“if you want to recycle”). The stages could be connected more smoothly by using clear references to the materials at each point and by keeping the description consistently objective. Overall, the organisation is coherent, although cohesion is sometimes mechanical or imprecise.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “compressed blocks,” “crushing machine,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw material,” which helps communicate the main stages. There is also some attempt to vary wording, for example “recycled and reuse.” However, several word choices and forms are inaccurate or unnatural, such as “extra bottles,” “seperate trash,” “waste product,” and “different type of products.” Repetition of “product” and “process” also limits precision, while “formed” is used vaguely for both raw material and end products. Choose terms that match the diagram more exactly and use natural collocations—for example, describe bottles being placed in a recycling bin and sorted at a recycling centre. These improvements would make the vocabulary more precise and reliable.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer structures, including a relative clause in “where waste product can be reuse” and a conditional in the final sentence. However, complex sentences are often not controlled successfully, and errors occur across verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “This truck leave” needs subject–verb agreement, while “crush material are placed” has an incorrect participle and agreement. The overview phrase “after start the process, end with” is also grammatically incomplete, and “can be recycled and reuse” does not maintain a consistent passive form. Aim first for accurate, complete sentences, then add subordinate clauses with correct verb forms and agreement. These recurring errors sometimes make the intended relationships difficult to follow.

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