Band 4.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-21

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 4.0)

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 4.0

The response attempts to describe the process of recycling plastic bottles as shown in the diagram, but it falls short in several areas. While it mentions key stages such as sorting, compressing into blocks, crushing, washing, and producing plastic pellets, the overview of the process is heavily obscured by informal, narrative-style language and personal commentary like 'First of all humenaty as usual throw there trashes'. Furthermore, some parts of the sequence and details are confused or inaccurately reported, such as claiming that the president gathers garbage. Because the information is not presented in a clear, academic report style and lacks a cohesive overview of the entire closed-loop cycle, this response best aligns with Band 4.0 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text suffers from a severe lack of proper paragraphing, presented as a single solid block of text. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, relying on rudimentary transitions like 'First of all' and 'then the next move'. The logical progression of the stages is difficult to follow because of run-on sentences and unclear referencing pronouns (e.g., 'Its when it been sorted'). The overall arrangement lacks the clear logical progression expected in an Academic Task 1 response. This performance fits the Band 4.0 level.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.0

The vocabulary is basic, repetitive, and heavily impacted by spelling and word-choice errors that frequently strain the reader. Examples include 'humenaty' for humanity, 'trashes' for trash, 'Recyc center' for recycling centre, 'groupes' for groups, 'propaly' for properly, 'tje' for the, and 'rycicled' for recycled. There is little evidence of less common lexical items used accurately, and spelling mistakes are pervasive throughout the response. This clearly matches the criteria for Band 4.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The grammatical range is extremely limited, consisting mostly of poorly constructed, error-prone sentences. There are frequent, heavy errors in basic sentence structure, subject-verb agreement, and passive/active voice usage (e.g., 'plastic usally been compressed', 'these blockes get crushed out to miny pieces', 'the plastic pellets which get washed early been produced'). Punctuation is largely neglected, with missing capital letters, run-on clauses, and incorrect spacing after punctuation marks. These frequent errors distort meaning and impede smooth communication, placing the response at Band 4.0.

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