Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-19

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 given process chart illustrates various stages of recycling plastic bottles into reusable products.

Overall, it is evident that the cycle consist of interconnected stages, beginning with collecting the waste into recycling bins and eventually returning to its initial stage.

The process begins with the bottles gathered into a reusable garbage bin and transported with the means of garbage truck to the recycling centre, where the bottles are segregated from other waste. In the 4th stage, the sorted ones are forwarded to get compressed into a cubes.

Subsequently, the blocks are conveyed to the crushing machine, where the waste cube is converted into small granules. The granules are washed and forwarded to a machine to transform the granules into plastic grains. Moreover, the pellets are heated to form raw substance, which is used for formation raw material. Finally, the raw material is converted into final products for end consumers

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response covers the main stages of the recycling process, but it fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words. Because the response is under-length, it is penalized in this criterion. While the overview is present, the description of the process is somewhat brief, and the final stage is described in a slightly vague manner ('formation raw material'). To improve, ensure that every step of the diagram is described with sufficient detail to meet the length requirement and provide a more comprehensive summary of the transformation process.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response is logically organized, moving chronologically through the stages of the recycling process. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction/overview from the body of the process. Cohesive devices such as 'The process begins with', 'Subsequently', and 'Finally' are used to guide the reader. However, the flow is occasionally mechanical, and the transition between the final steps could be smoother. The use of referencing is generally clear, though the connection between the 'raw substance' and 'final products' could be more explicitly linked to the visual data provided.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with terms like 'segregated', 'compressed', and 'granules' used correctly. However, there are some awkward collocations and minor errors, such as 'transported with the means of' (should be 'by means of') and 'compressed into a cubes' (should be 'compressed into cubes'). The phrase 'formation raw material' is also imprecise. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more natural collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing. Expanding your range of process-related verbs and nouns will help improve the precision of your descriptions.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('the cycle consist of') and article usage errors ('into a cubes'). While these errors do not significantly impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but the sentence structure could be more varied. Focusing on proofreading for basic grammatical accuracy, particularly regarding pluralization and verb forms, will help improve your score in this area.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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