Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-27

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)

First of all humenaty as usual throw there trashes hopeingfully in the proper areas.then the next move from the president is to ask to gather all the garbage from all over the city to be in one place "Recyc center" . Its when it been sorted in groupes : plastic , paper , glass , etc. each group had way to be recycled ,plastic usally been compressed into blocks as the forth step in this cycle. in the next step with machines these blockes get crushed out to miny pieces ,get washed propaly to get ready for tje next step. the plastic pellets which get washed early been produced in this step then after, it get heated to form a raw material such as plastick silk which can make clothes ,bags, etc .or can be used brand new plastic to form diffrent type of botels or lunch boxs it depends on which company use this rycicled plastic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to describe the process of recycling plastic bottles, covering the main stages from discarding and collecting to sorting, crushing, washing, pelletising, and producing end products. However, the response falls short of a fully developed Academic Task 1 report in several ways. The tone is informal, narrative, and speculative (e.g., mentioning 'the president' and human habits) rather than objective and analytical. Furthermore, some key stages are described loosely or combined incorrectly, and the required overview of the overall process is missing. Consequently, the response meets the criteria for Band 5, as it addresses the task only partially with limited development.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text lacks proper paragraphing, presented instead as a single solid block of text. Cohesive devices are either missing or used inappropriately (e.g., 'First of all humenaty as usual throw there trashes', 'Its when it been sorted'), leading to a lack of clear overall progression and logical linking between sentences. The flow feels conversational and disjointed rather than structured. Pronoun referencing is also weak, making it difficult at times to follow what 'it' or 'they' refers to. These issues align the response with Band 4 in terms of Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary range is basic and heavily impacted by spelling and word-choice errors. Words are frequently misspelled or misused, such as 'humenaty' for humanity, 'trashes' for trash, 'Recyc center' for recycling centre, 'groupes' for groups, and 'plastick' for plastic. There is an attempt to use less common items like 'compressed' and 'raw material', but the constant errors in spelling ('propaly', 'tje', 'diffrent', 'botels', 'boxs', 'rycicled') and word formation impede communication significantly. This performance sits firmly at Band 4.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response. The text contains numerous basic errors, including missing articles, incorrect verb tenses, and flawed passive constructions (e.g., 'it been sorted', 'these blockes get crushed out to miny pieces', 'the plastic pellets... been produced'). Simple sentences dominate, and attempts at more complex structures are faulty and ungrammatical. Punctuation is also erratic, with missing capital letters and spaces after periods. These frequent, dense errors that distort meaning place the grammatical performance at Band 4.

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