Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-08-22
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 diagram illustrates the transformation of a plastic bottle into multiple products. There are 9 steps in which the whole process is completed from the bottle collection to convert into raw material.
Overall, the bottles are segregated by the humans and the collection of a bottle is done by garbage truck.
Initially, the people are throwing their garbage into a garbage box and after some time, the garbage machine is collecting all the garbage with picking machines. Moreover, when the collection process was completed, now it is time to separate the bottles and it was done by humans and after sorting the valuable and non-valuable bottles, all are collected into a box. Meanwhile, the right container bottles are compressed by machines and converted into a block. Therefore, it is going through a process of crushing and they are converted into small particles and it is collected into a box of container where the washing process is done to remove all waste and any type of dirt from the particles. In addition, the cleaning particle is going through a process of machine, where the particles are converted into plastic pellets along with the heating process to remove water from pellets and in which the raw material is formed. Finally, the raw materials is now converted into several products such as tiffin, pencils, recycled plastic bag, and clothes etc.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main stages of the recycling process, but it lacks a clear, analytical overview. The description is overly narrative and focuses too much on the chronological sequence rather than highlighting the key features of the process. For instance, the transition from 'garbage truck' to 'raw material' is mentioned, but the technical aspects of the transformation are described in a simplistic, step-by-step manner. To reach a higher band, you should group related stages together (e.g., collection, processing, and manufacturing) and provide a more concise summary of the overall transformation, rather than listing every minor action.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The text is organized chronologically, which provides a basic level of coherence. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent use of 'and' and 'after'. The paragraphing is insufficient; the entire body of the report is contained in one long paragraph, which makes it difficult to follow the logical progression of the process. Using clear paragraph breaks to separate the collection, processing, and final production stages would significantly improve the flow and structure of your writing.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic and repetitive. You rely heavily on simple terms like 'garbage', 'things', and 'done'. While you attempt some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'segregated', 'compressed', and 'pellets', the overall range is limited. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'right container bottles' and 'cleaning particle', which hinder the precision of your description. To improve, try to incorporate more precise technical terminology related to industrial processes and avoid repetitive phrasing.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'the raw materials is now converted'), incorrect tense usage (e.g., 'when the collection process was completed, now it is time'), and awkward phrasing (e.g., 'the people are throwing their garbage'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with several run-on sentences. Focusing on basic sentence construction and ensuring consistent verb tenses throughout the report would help improve your accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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