Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-12

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 6.0)

The diagram below illustrates the recycling process of plastic bottles.

Overall, the most noticeable feature is crushing plastic bottles to produce plastic pellets after washing them, which are then used to form raw material. The raw material is then used to form end products.

First, It showed the collection of plastic bottles in the dustbins which got carried by the waste collector truck to the recycling centre. Next, the plastic bottles were then sorted out. The sorted plastic bottles were then used to compress into the blocks. Thereafter, the plastic bottles were crushed by the help of crushing machines, which were washed and then were sent to plastic pellets producing machine.

The subsequent stage was putting the crushed plastic into the machine to produce plastic pellets. Furthermore, the plastic pellets gets heated to form raw material. Next, the raw material were used to produce end products such as clothes, plastic bottles, pencils, shopping bags and much more.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages in a generally accurate sequence, from collection and sorting through compression, crushing, washing, pellet production, heating, and the creation of new products. Your overview identifies the transformation into raw material and end products, and examples such as bottles, pencils, and shopping bags are relevant. However, the overview gives particular emphasis to crushing and pellet production rather than clearly summarising the full cycle, including the return of end products to the recycling bin. Some details are also unclear: the diagram shows sorting into accepted and rejected items, but you do not explain this distinction, and “clothes” is less precise than the pictured T-shirt. A more complete overview and clearer treatment of the sorting and loop would strengthen coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs that move through the process in sequence. Connectors such as “First,” “Next,” “Thereafter,” and “Furthermore” help the reader follow the stages, and the progression is mostly logical. However, the linking is somewhat mechanical, with several consecutive stages introduced by similar sequencing words. There is also some repetition between the overview and the body, particularly around pellets and raw material, while the final return arrow that completes the cycle is not incorporated into the progression. Use a wider range of referencing and transitions, and group related stages more deliberately, to make the flow more flexible and cohesive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “sorted,” “compress,” “crushed,” “pellets,” and “raw material,” so the stages are generally understandable. There are also relevant terms for the outputs, such as “shopping bags” and “pencils.” Some choices are imprecise or awkward, however: “dustbins” is not the clearest term for a recycling bin, “waste collector truck” is less natural than “collection truck,” and “plastic pellets producing machine” is an awkward compound. “Much more” is also vague in an academic description. Aim for precise process collocations and concise wording, for example “recycling bin,” “collection vehicle,” and “pellet-producing machine.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “which were washed” and a purpose construction in “to produce plastic pellets.” The sequence remains understandable, but some grammatical errors recur. Capitalisation is incorrect in “First, It showed,” and tense and agreement are inconsistent in “the plastic pellets gets heated” and “the raw material were used.” The passive construction in “were then used to compress into the blocks” is incomplete because it does not clearly state what is compressed. There is also unnecessary repetition of “then” in places. Check subject–verb agreement, maintain consistent past or present tense, and form passive clauses with an explicit object to improve accuracy.

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