Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-11

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)

The picture below illustrates the steps involved in process of plastic bottles recycling. There are some steps involving how used bottles will reuse by doing recycling.

At first, the waste bottles or used botlles are thrown in recycled bins. Later the bins taken by a garbage van to near a recycling centre to divide the bottles which can be recycled and which can not be by using sorting method. The forth step is compressing the bottles into a box shape blocks, then it send for crushing and wash it in water.

The next is making the crushed plastic into pellets and heat them to form raw materials. Then the raw materials will be used to make again new bottles, boxes, pens, bags, tshirts etc.

By the end we should not waste the plastic bottles instead send to recycling centre, they will make new products using waste bottles. Plastics takes hundreds of years to burried in soil , so that recycling is best sollution and also better for environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main stages from putting bottles in a bin through collection, sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating to form raw material. The overview that the material is made into new products is relevant, and examples such as bottles, boxes, pens and bags broadly match the diagram. However, the account is less complete at the end: it does not clearly explain that the raw material is used to produce a range of end products, which then feed back into the recycling cycle. The final advice about plastic taking a long time to decompose and being better for the environment is not shown in the diagram, so it takes space from process details. Focus the overview on the cycle and describe its final stages more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a generally clear sequence, supported by paragraph breaks and time markers such as “At first,” “Later,” and “The next.” This makes the process understandable from disposal to the creation of new products. However, some links are mechanical or unclear: “The forth step” is an awkward transition, and “Then the raw materials will be used to make again new bottles” does not clearly connect the raw material stage to the end-products stage. The concluding environmental comment also shifts away from the process and weakens the overall progression. Group the stages into a clear beginning, middle and end, and use references such as “this material” only when their meaning is unmistakable.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “sorting,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “pellets” and “raw materials,” which helps convey the main stages. There is also some variety in naming the products. However, word choice and spelling are inconsistent: “recycled bins” is not the natural term for the containers, “garbage van” is less precise than the diagram’s collection truck, and “box shape blocks” is an awkward description. Errors such as “botlles,” “tshirts,” “sollution” and “burried” also reduce accuracy. Some phrases are repetitive, particularly “used bottles” and “make.” Build precision by using standard process collocations such as “recycling bin,” “collection truck,” “compressed into blocks” and “manufacture end products.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, and the sequence is usually understandable. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “the bins taken” needs a finite verb, while “which can be recycled and which can not be” has an incomplete passive construction. “Then it send for crushing and wash it” also shifts awkwardly between singular and plural references and uses incorrect verb forms. In the final paragraph, “Plastics takes” shows a subject–verb agreement error, and “to burried” is not a correct infinitive construction. Use consistent present simple passive forms for a process, such as “the bottles are collected” and “the plastic is washed,” and check each sentence for a complete verb phrase.

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