Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-09-30
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)
The Above Diagram shows the entire process of how plastic bottles are recycled.In the first image it is shown that plastic is thrown into the recycle bin then after the garbage is collected by the recycling truck afterwards the garbage is collected in the recycling center the recycling center helps to sort the garbage after sorting the garbage the huge plastic blocks are made which then are moved for the crushing part the plastic particals are washed and moved for making the plastic pellets the plastic pellets are heated to form raw material then the raw material is used to make plastic bottle or product
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 4.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5
The student has attempted to summarise the diagram showing the recycling process of plastic bottles, mentioning several key stages from throwing the bottle in the bin to producing end products. However, the response falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 105 words. Because of this under-length penalty, the task cannot be fully developed. Furthermore, some stages of the process, such as the separation of accepted and rejected items or the specific heating of pellets, are skipped or compressed too rapidly, impacting the completeness of the overview.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0
The text suffers greatly from a lack of proper punctuation and paragraphing. The entire response is written as one long, continuous run-on sentence connected by repetitive use of 'then' and 'afterwards'. There are no full stops used to separate distinct stages of the process, which makes the flow mechanical and difficult to follow. While the chronological sequence of the stages is generally preserved, the complete absence of organizational structure and cohesive devices beyond basic conjunctions prevents the text from achieving a higher band score.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, relying heavily on fundamental words directly related to the prompt, such as 'plastic', 'bottles', 'garbage', 'recycling', and 'process'. There are minor lexical inaccuracies, such as spelling 'particles' as 'particals'. The range of vocabulary is limited, and there is no real attempt to use less common lexical items or paraphrase the process creatively. However, the chosen words are adequate enough to convey the general idea of recycling, preventing a lower score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0
The grammatical range is extremely limited. The student fails to use proper punctuation, resulting in a single run-on sentence spanning the entire paragraph, lacking capitalisation at the start of sentences and terminal punctuation. Simple structures are strung together without proper subordination or coordination. There are frequent grammatical issues caused by run-on structures and comma splices, which make the text difficult to read and parse grammatically.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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