Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-26
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 4.5)
The given process chart illustrates the process of recycling plastic bottles.
Overall, this process involves 9 steps in total, all steps are essential if one of the step is eliminated the whole process will be excluded.
First and foremost, garbage is thrown into dump yard then is transported to the recycling centre for the process of sorting, afterwards garbage is compressed into blocks after that, garbage is crushed for the process of washing after that, plastic pellets are produced then raw material is formed,
subsequently, raw material is packed, last but not the least, end products for example bottles, boxes, T-shirts, pencils etc are produced.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The response covers the main stages of the plastic bottle recycling process, starting from disposal and sorting through to crushing, washing, pelletising, and the creation of end products in a closed loop. However, the text suffers from a severe word count penalty, containing only 105 words compared to the minimum requirement of 150 words. Additionally, the overview is overly simplistic and grammatically fused, and some details are generalized. Due to the under-length penalty and limited development of ideas, the response falls into the lower bands.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0
The text is structured as a single massive, run-on paragraph with little to no proper punctuation. Sentences are strung together using repetitive conjunctive transitions like 'after that' and 'then'. While a chronological sequence is attempted, the lack of standard sentence boundaries and paragraph breaks makes the overall organisation faulty and mechanical. Cohesive devices are over-used in a chain-like fashion rather than deployed flexibly to guide the reader through a well-structured essay format.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is quite basic and repetitive, relying heavily on words like 'process', 'garbage', 'material', and 'produced'. There are some appropriate topic-specific terms such as 'recycling centre', 'sorting', 'compressed', 'crushed', and 'plastic pellets', but the overall lexical range is limited. Word choice is sometimes unnatural, such as referring to recyclable waste in a domestic bin simply as 'garbage' tossed into a 'dump yard'.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0
The grammatical structure is extremely weak, characterized by comma splices and run-on sentences. The entire response reads as two massive compound sentences joined incorrectly by commas rather than proper periods or subordinating conjunctions ('garbage is thrown into dump yard then is transported...'). There is a distinct lack of varied complex structures, and punctuation is almost entirely absent except for commas. Frequent structural errors significantly hinder the flow and readability of the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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