Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-09

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 5.0)

The diagram below shows the process for recycling plastic bottles.

Overall, how plastic bottles are recycled, people throws bottles in a special trash bin for bottles and after that, a special plastic recycling machine arrives and collects everything that has accumulated in the plastic recycling bin Once the car is full, it carries all the accumulated plastic to the recycling center. After this, all the accumulated plastic is flattened into cubes. These flattened cubes are getting crushed and they are turning into grains, after this they fall into the water where they become clean.

On the next step they are producing plastic pettels by grains, heating pettels to form raw material. After this, we get a ready-made material with which we can make clothes, pencils, boxes for something and also the same plastic bottles, but already filled with water.And after that, everything starts all over again, people throw plastic bottles into special waste bins for plastic and after that, from this plastic that was thrown away, you can create a bottle again with

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You cover the main stages from putting bottles in a bin through collection, sorting, processing and making new products, and you recognise that the process repeats. However, the overview is not clearly separated from the stage-by-stage account, and some important details are missing or inaccurate. For example, the diagram shows sorting into accepted and rejected bottles, but this is not explained; it also shows crushing followed by washing, whereas your description makes the sequence and result unclear. The final products are not limited to clothes, pencils and boxes: the diagram also includes containers, bags and bottles. The claim that bottles are already filled with water is unsupported. A clearer overview of the closed-loop process and more precise reporting of the stages would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages are generally presented in their process order, and phrases such as “After this” and “On the next step” help the reader follow the sequence. However, the response is written as one long paragraph, so the overview and detailed stages are not clearly organised into separate parts. Linking phrases are also repetitive, and some connections are awkward: “after this, everything starts all over again” is followed by another explanation of the cycle, while the final sentence trails off. Use a brief overview paragraph followed by a logically grouped description of the stages, and vary or reduce sequencing expressions. Clearer sentence boundaries and references to the materials at each stage would make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling center,” “flattened,” “crushed,” “raw material” and “end products,” which helps communicate the general sequence. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or informal for an academic process description. “Special trash bin” and “car” are less precise than the diagram’s recycling bin and collection truck, while “grains” does not clearly identify the plastic pieces or pellets. “Ready-made material” is also vague, and “pettels” is misspelled. Repeated use of “plastic,” “after this” and “accumulated” makes the account less precise. Choose specific terms for each stage and check spelling, especially for key technical vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to connect stages in longer sentences, but complex structures are often faulty, and errors sometimes make the sequence difficult to interpret. For example, “people throws bottles” has subject–verb disagreement, and “how plastic bottles are recycled, people throws…” creates an incomplete, awkward opening construction. The sentence beginning “On the next step they are producing…” also shifts between forms without a clear grammatical structure. Punctuation and sentence boundaries need attention: “bin Once the car is full” lacks a full stop, and “water.And” runs two sentences together. Practise accurate simple present forms for process descriptions, then build longer sentences with clear clauses and consistent tense.

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