Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-29

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)

this diagram illustates the cycle for recycling plastic bottles.first of all , the whole processs starts with us humans throwing the plastix botttle into the trash can then a van picks the trash and transfer it to the recycling centre where the workers there identify the products , it is either valid for the the next step or no , moving on with the fourth step , tehy compress the plastic bottles into huge blocks and then they crush then so they can do the washing phase and after all of this they start to produce the plastic pellets and in the seventh step they heat those pellets so we can preapare raw material and after finish the heat step we move to the next step which the raw material and in the step we can say that the whole process is almost done because in the end we transform this material into different objocts like new bottles,pens and shirts .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to cover the main features of the plastic bottle recycling process, tracing the steps from throwing bottles into the trash to producing end products. However, the explanation is overly narrative and lacks a clear overview of the cyclical nature of the process. Important stages, such as sorting, washing, and pellet production, are mentioned, but the description is heavily reliant on a run-on sentence structure that makes it difficult to fully grasp the structured flow of the diagram. The response meets the minimum word count, but the lack of an introductory overview and paragraphing limits the development of Task Achievement to Band 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

The text suffers significantly from a lack of paragraphing, appearing as a single, massive block of text. Cohesive devices are weak, repetitive, and overly reliant on basic additive links such as 'then' and 'and'. For instance, phrases like 'moving on with the fourth step , tehy compress...' chain multiple independent clauses together incorrectly without proper punctuation. There is no clear logical progression or paragraph division to separate the introduction, body stages, and conclusion. This places the response firmly in Band 4.0 for coherence and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with noticeable spelling errors throughout the text (e.g., 'illustates', 'plastix', 'botttle', 'tehy', 'objocts'). While the student attempts some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'recycling centre', 'plastic pellets', and 'raw material', the pervasive errors in spelling and word form (e.g., 'transfer it' instead of 'transfers it', 'finish the heat step') restrict the lexical range to a minimally adequate level. Communication is occasionally strained by these errors, leading to a Band 5.0 score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The response consists almost entirely of one long, run-on sentence joined by coordinating conjunctions and commas, showing very little control over sentence boundaries and punctuation. There is a complete lack of capitalisation at the beginning of sentences and after periods, and commas are frequently misplaced. While there are a few simple structures that are understandable, the grammatical accuracy is severely compromised by punctuation errors, run-on sentences, and spelling mistakes. This performance aligns with Band 4.0 descriptors.

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.