Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-24

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 process diagram illustrates the process for recycling plastic bottles.

Overall this process consists of nine stages. It starts with adding plastic bottles to the bins and ends with producing end products.

Initially residents add disposals to the earth . After that this disposals are collected by government and private businessmen. When they reach to the recycling centre, they sortout plastic bottles from disposals. After that bottles are compressed into blocks. The next step is crushing. The huge blocks were crushed using crushers in to small pieces.

Moreover these small pieces were added to the water and this pieces are washed . The next step is producing plastic pellets. Manufactures tend to use big machines for this step. However plastic pellets are come out .Then pellets are heated and heating pellets are become raw materials. Raw material use different ways. They produce water bottles and lunch boxes directly and some time use for make clothes and pencils . This cycle repeat again

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The student covers all parts of the task well by outlining the entire process of recycling plastic bottles from the initial disposal stage to the final production of end products, forming a complete cycle. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, which successfully highlights that the process consists of nine stages and starts and ends logically. However, some details are slightly inaccurate or over-simplified compared to the diagram, such as the statement that residents add 'disposals to the earth' instead of a recycling bin, and the description of collection by 'government and private businessmen.' Despite minor descriptive inaccuracies, the main features of the process are clearly reported and the logical flow is maintained throughout, satisfying the requirements for a Band 6.5 or solid Band 6 performance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response is arranged coherently, with a logical overall progression that follows the chronological sequence of the diagram from stage one through nine. Paragraphing is attempted, with an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs separating different phases of the process. However, the paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, with several very short paragraphs that disrupt the flow. Cohesive devices such as 'After that', 'Moreover', and 'Then' are used, but they are repetitive and sometimes mechanical. Referencing is also occasionally unclear, as seen in phrases like 'this disposals' (where pronoun/determiner agreement is flawed). Overall organisation is clear enough to follow, but cohesion lacks flexibility.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe the steps of sorting, crushing, washing, and pelletising. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'add disposals to the earth' instead of 'bins', 'sortout' instead of 'sort out', and 'heating pellets are become' instead of 'become'. Spelling and word-form errors are present ('Manufactures' instead of 'manufacturers', 'sometime' instead of 'sometimes'). While the student attempts less common vocabulary such as 'recycling centre', 'compressed', and 'plastic pellets', inaccuracies in word choice and morphology restrict the score to Band 5.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in verb tense, voice, and agreement, such as 'this disposals are collected' (plural/singular mismatch), 'The huge blocks were crushed' (inconsistent past tense in a present process description), 'plastic pellets are come out', and 'Raw material use different ways'. Punctuation and article usage are also inconsistent. While meaning is generally conveyed despite the errors, the high frequency of grammatical slips prevents the response from reaching a higher band.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.