Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-17

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 5.0)

The figure provides the recycling of plastic bottels

Overall,It can be seen that the process by which the plastic battle is recycled is a multistep cyclical process, which consists of main stages: Collection, processing and distribution.

In the first stage, customers place used bottles in collection bin and the bottles are collected by trucks.

In stage two,the bottes are taken and sorted by someone, good bottles are taken and bad not taken.they are then sheparated according to good or bad and compressed into blocks,where they are crushed into pieces.The pieces are washed in a furnace and produced plastic pellets, and they are melted into raw materials

In the third and final stage, new melted pieces are taken to factory and made new products like pencils,boxes,bottles clothes, bags. Then the process begins

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to summarise the process of recycling plastic bottles, identifying the main stages such as collection, sorting, crushing, washing, and manufacturing end products. However, there are significant omissions and inaccuracies regarding the sequence of steps, such as placing washing in a furnace and melting pellets into raw materials incorrectly. Furthermore, the response falls well short of the 1,500-character requirement implied by standard IELTS tasks, specifically failing the minimum 150-word check (containing only 131 words). Due to the incomplete development of the process and the under-length penalty, this warrants a band score of 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is organised into rudimentary paragraphs representing different stages of the process, and an overall introductory statement is attempted ("Overall,It can be seen..."). However, cohesive devices are minimal and mechanical, and punctuation and spacing errors (e.g., missing spaces after commas such as "Overall,It") disrupt the flow. The progression through the steps is somewhat disjointed, and referencing between sentences is weak. Paragraphing is underutilised, with a lack of sophisticated logical transitions between the sorting, crushing, and manufacturing phases. Cohesion is faulty and mechanical, aligning with a band score of 5.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, with frequent spelling errors throughout the text (e.g., "bottels" instead of bottles, "battle" instead of bottle, "sheparated" instead of separated). There is a limited range of vocabulary appropriate for describing a cyclical industrial process. While the student attempts some less common terms like "multistep cyclical process" and "compressed into blocks," the numerous lexical errors and spelling mistakes ("furnace" incorrectly used for washing) cause noticeable strain for the reader. This performance reflects the descriptors for a band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures (e.g., relative clauses with "which consists of..."). However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors in articles, prepositions, and subject-verb agreement (e.g., "good bottles are taken and bad not taken", "bottles are collected by trucks"). Punctuation errors are prevalent, including run-on sentences and missing spaces after punctuation marks. While basic meaning is generally conveyed, the high frequency of grammatical slips and awkward phrasings restricts the score to a 5.0.

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