Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-01
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)
This diagram illustrates the recycling process of the plastic bottles.
Overall, it consists of the nine stages beginning from the collection of the used bottles and ending with final plastic products.
Initially, bottles are being collected from bins by the staff, took to the recycling centre with the help of truck for sorting them in the centre. Then in the next stage, they are compressed into blocks and then crushed in the the following stage. In the sixth stage, Plastic pallets are produced and subsequently heating pallets to form raw material. Finally raw material is being produced which results in producing end products in the subsequent stage.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the score. While the student identifies the main stages of the recycling process, the description is too brief and lacks the necessary detail to fully cover all parts of the task. The summary is underdeveloped, and the process is described in a very mechanical, list-like fashion without sufficient elaboration on the transitions or the specific nature of the stages. To improve, the student needs to expand on the description of each step, providing more descriptive detail about the actions involved in the recycling cycle.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a basic structure with an introduction and a body paragraph. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. While some cohesive devices are used, such as 'Initially', 'Then', and 'Finally', the flow between sentences feels repetitive. The paragraphing is insufficient; the body of the report should ideally be split into two logical stages of the process to improve readability. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall logical flow is hampered by the brevity of the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is functional but limited. The student relies on basic terms like 'collected', 'compressed', and 'crushed'. There is little attempt to use more sophisticated or precise vocabulary related to industrial processes (e.g., 'shredded', 'granulated', 'reprocessed'). Some word choices are slightly awkward, such as 'took to the recycling centre with the help of truck', which lacks natural collocation. To reach a higher band, the student should incorporate more varied and topic-specific vocabulary to describe the stages of the diagram more accurately.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains several grammatical errors that affect clarity. For example, 'bottles are being collected... took to the recycling centre' contains a tense inconsistency and a missing article. There are also errors in preposition usage and sentence structure, such as 'in the the following stage' (repetition) and 'heating pallets to form raw material' (missing subject/verb agreement). The range of structures is limited, consisting mostly of simple or slightly flawed passive constructions. More attention to verb tenses and article usage is required to improve accuracy.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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