Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-28
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 process of recycling plastics bottles.
Overall, it is clear that process consists of nine stages, which is beginning with collection to different kinds of bottles, and ending with producing and various types of products.
Initially, the first stage of process is collect the different types of plastic bottles such as water plastics bottles and plastic bags in assembly container, after that, the vehicle transport of collect plastics bottles from container to recycling center for sorting to two types, than gathering these bottles to compressing into blocks.
Looking with the next stage, blocks have used to crushing to small parts by mechanical machine and washing these pieces in liquid tank, upon arrive to producing plastic pellets to the smallest pieces by specialist equipment.
Turning to the next stage, the smallest pieces of pellets have used by heating in high temperature to form raw materials, and put raw materials in order to used different types of products such as plastics bottles and food plastics packages , and t-shirts and pens.
Finally, some raw materials remain to processing as new recycling.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student successfully identifies the main features of the recycling process, covering all nine stages from the initial collection of plastic bottles to the production of end products and the recycling loop. The overview mentions the nine-stage cycle and its start and end points, which satisfies the requirements for an overview in Task 1. However, some descriptions are slightly imprecise or awkward, such as 'collection to different kinds of bottles'. Despite these minor phrasing issues, the core information of the diagram is adequately represented and all main steps are reported.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement, following the chronological sequence of the diagram using transition words such as 'Initially', 'after that', 'Looking with the next stage', and 'Finally'. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped, with the entire body text lumped into a single block alongside the introduction. Cohesive devices are sometimes used awkwardly or mechanically (e.g., 'Looking with the next stage' instead of 'Moving on to the next stage', and 'than gathering' instead of 'then gathering'), which impacts the flow and clarity of the writing.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, attempting less common topic-specific terms such as 'assembly container', 'specialist equipment', and 'raw materials'. However, there are frequent word choice and collocation errors throughout the text (e.g., 'process consists of nine stages, which is beginning with' instead of 'beginning with', 'transport of collect plastics' instead of 'transportation of collected plastics', and 'blocks have used to crushing' instead of 'blocks are crushed'). These lexical inaccuracies occasionally strain the reader, limiting the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent errors in verb forms, voice, and preposition use (e.g., 'process is collect the different types', 'vehicle transport of collect plastics', 'upon arrive to producing', and 'have used by heating'). Many complex constructions are faulty, leading to awkward phrasing that requires the reader to decode the intended meaning. Punctuation is basic, but communication is not entirely blocked.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.