Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)
The diagram illustrates the cycle for recycling plastic bottles. Beginning from recycling single-use plastics until conversion to new products.
Overall, the process consists of nine stages. Plastics that were thrown by people are collected by garbage truck collector and will be brought to the recycling center. These plastics are then sorted to acceptable and non acceptable. Next, thosse plastics that are acceptable will be compressed into blocks before it will be crushed by a special machine. The crushed plastics will be washed and put into a machine that will turn them into plastic pellets. After that, these pellets will be heated to form raw material. These raw material will then be use to produce different products such as clothes, pens, reusable containers and many more.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student successfully identifies the main process of recycling plastic bottles and outlines the nine distinct stages in a sequential manner. However, the response has a significant word count issue, containing only 125 words, which fails to meet the minimum requirement of 150 words. This under-length impacts the overall task fulfillment as some stages are described rather briefly without deeper elaboration. While the overview mentions the nine stages and captures the core transformation from discarded plastics to new end products, the limited length prevents a fully developed response, placing this criterion at band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The response is arranged logically in a sequential flow that mirrors the diagram's clockwise loop. The student employs standard transition words such as 'Beginning from', 'Overall', 'Next', and 'After that' to guide the reader through the various stages. Paragraphing is attempted by separating the introduction from the main body, though the main body is condensed into a single large block. Referencing is mostly clear, though occasional mechanical transitions occur. Overall, the logical progression is clear and easy to follow, supporting a band 6.0.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for describing a simple industrial process, using terms such as 'recycling center', 'sorted', 'compressed into blocks', 'crushed', 'washed', and 'plastic pellets'. There are, however, a few spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'thosse' for 'those', 'non acceptable' for 'unacceptable', and grammatical inaccuracies in collocation like 'These raw material will then be use'. Despite these errors, communication is not impeded, demonstrating the characteristics of a band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'Plastics that were thrown by people are collected by garbage truck collector...' and 'The crushed plastics will be washed and put into a machine that will turn them into plastic pellets.' However, there are notable grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies ('were thrown', 'will be brought', 'will be use'), subject-verb agreement issues ('These raw material will then be use'), and spelling errors. These errors occasionally disrupt the flow, leading to a band 5.5 score.
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