Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-14

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 flow chart illustrates the process for recycling plastic bottles . It is evident that nine number of steps are involved in it .

To begin with, it is noticeable that first the plastic bottles are collected from all the areas and are loaded with the help of truck and sent at a recycling center . At the recycling center the sorting of plastic bottles are done the used one are ready to recycle while the bad ones are throw away. Then the good plastic bottles are compressed into a blocks and are crushed using a machine as well as washed simultaneously. After this the producing plastic pellets are crushed and the crushed pellets are heated to form raw materials. At this point the raw materials are pilled up in the stack and various things such as t-shirts, pencil, tiffin boxes are made and are ready to sell in the markets .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main stages of the recycling process, but it lacks a clear overview of the process as a whole. While you mention nine steps, the description is somewhat repetitive and lacks a clear logical flow between the stages. The summary of the final products is included, but the description of the intermediate stages (such as the transition from pellets to raw materials) is slightly confusing. To improve, ensure you provide a clear summary statement after the introduction that highlights the cyclical nature of the process and group the stages more effectively to show the progression from collection to manufacturing.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is organised into two paragraphs, but the second paragraph is quite dense and would benefit from being broken down into smaller, logical steps. You use some cohesive devices like 'To begin with', 'Then', and 'After this', which help the flow, but the progression of ideas feels a bit mechanical. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the sentence 'the producing plastic pellets are crushed', where the connection to the previous step is not fully explained. Improving the use of paragraphing and varying your linking phrases would help the reader follow the process more easily.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive and lacks precision. For example, you use 'crushed' and 'crushing' multiple times in close proximity. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'loaded with the help of truck' (should be 'loaded onto trucks') and 'pilled up in the stack' (should be 'piled into stacks'). To reach a higher band, try to use more specific terminology related to industrial processes, such as 'sorted', 'processed', 'manufactured', or 'transformed', and ensure your word choices are more varied throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally affect clarity. For instance, 'the sorting of plastic bottles are done' should be 'is done' (subject-verb agreement), and 'the used one are ready to recycle' should be 'the used ones are ready to be recycled'. Additionally, there are issues with article usage and prepositional phrases, such as 'sent at a recycling center' instead of 'sent to a recycling center'. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and consistent verb tenses will significantly improve the accuracy of your writing.

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