Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

give a band on this task 1 : The diagram shows how plastic bottles are recycled. Overall, it is a continuous process and one cycle has nine steps in the process. The main stages are collecting, sorting, crushing, heating, and producing end products. People thrown away bottles they no longer need into bins. A garbage collecting van then takes them to recycling centre where they are manually sorted out. The plastic bottles which are not suitable for recycling are taken out. The suitable ones are then compressed into big blocks. After that, these large blocks are crushed with the help of a machine into small pieces which are subsequently washed in a big container. Another machine joins in the process and produces plastic pellets which are even tinier. These plastic pellets are heated and formed identical-shaped raw material. These newly producing raw materials are taken to different factory to manufacturing final products, such as bottles, boxes, bags, pencils, and shirts. When these newly produced bottles are become unnecessay people again thrown away the bottles and the cycle starts anew.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main features of the plastic bottle recycling process. An overview is provided at the beginning, noting that it is a continuous process with nine steps. The student accurately tracks the sequence from the initial collection in bins and transport via a collection van, through sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, pellet production, and heating, up to the manufacturing of final products and the restarting of the cycle. Key stages are clearly reported without major omissions or misinterpretations of the visual data. The response meets the minimum word count requirement easily and covers all stages adequately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay demonstrates a clear overall progression from the beginning of the recycling process to the end, mirroring the chronological flow of the diagram. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction and overview from the detailed body steps. Cohesive devices and sequence markers such as 'After that', 'subsequently', and 'When these newly produced bottles' help to guide the reader through the various stages smoothly. However, paragraph breaks could have been utilised more effectively to chunk the nine stages into logical sub-groups, which would enhance the overall structure.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a process diagram, including terms such as 'continuous process', 'compressed into big blocks', 'crushed with the help of a machine', 'plastic pellets', and 'manufacturing final products'. However, there are noticeable lexical and word choice inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'People thrown away' instead of 'throw away', 'recycling centre' lacking an article, and 'identical-shaped raw material' or 'newly producing raw materials'. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the score from reaching a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at relative clauses and time clauses (e.g., 'The plastic bottles which are not suitable for recycling are taken out'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent due to several frequent errors, particularly with tense and verb forms, such as 'People thrown away bottles', 'are become unnecessay', and 'people again thrown away'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, but grammatical slips in verb agreement and past participles reduce the overall control of complex structures.

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