Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-02

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 shows the complete process for recycling plastic bottles in several steps.

Overall, this process has nine steps and initially it starts with throwing plastic bottles to dustbin and producing end products from plastic , it is a automatic circular process. The people throw plastic in dustbins and a garbage collector collects all the plastic bottles , then in sorting center the workers sort the plastic , then next process is compressing the large amount of plastic in one block , followed by crushing bottle into small pieces , after that washing it .

Afterwards, making plastic pellets to become raw materials by heating pellets , then followed by raw material and next step is to store the raw material , then from the raw material make a products like a plastic box , t-shirts, recyclable bags, and pencil and more , these are the nine complete process of recycling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers all the main stages of the plastic recycling process shown in the diagram, meeting the basic requirements of the task. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited and mechanical. While the writer mentions the key steps such as sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, and producing pellets, the explanation remains superficial. For instance, stating that the process 'initially it starts with throwing plastic bottles to dustbin' focuses heavily on the initial human action rather than summarizing the overarching technical process effectively. To move to a higher band, the response needs to present a clearer, more extended overview and highlight significant comparisons or key cyclical relationships without merely listing every single step in a repetitive manner.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text demonstrates some general organization with an attempt to group the steps into an introduction, body, and conclusion, but there is no clear overall progression. The writing relies heavily on repetitive sequential linking words such as 'then', 'after that', 'afterwards', and 'next step is to', which creates a mechanical feel and makes the text read like a run-on list. Paragraphing is also poorly managed, as the main body is split awkwardly into two paragraphs that do not logically separate distinct phases of the cyclical diagram. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as when referring back to raw materials and products. To improve, the writer should use a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally and structure paragraphs logically around major process phases.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, with simple terms like 'plastic bottles', 'workers', 'block', and 'pieces'. There are several attempts to use less common vocabulary, such as 'automatic circular process' and 'recyclable bags', but these are accompanied by noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'throwing plastic bottles to dustbin' instead of 'disposing of plastic bottles in a recycling bin', and 'make a products' instead of 'manufacture products'. Spelling is generally acceptable, but lexical control is limited, resulting in awkward phrasing that occasionally requires the reader to slow down. Expanding the range of vocabulary and ensuring precise collocations related to industrial processes would enhance this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response features a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on lengthy, run-on simple sentences linked by conjunctions rather than well-controlled complex clauses. Attempts at complex sentences are frequently faulty, leading to grammatical disruption, such as in the sentence 'Afterwards, making plastic pellets to become raw materials by heating pellets , then followed by raw material and next step is to store the raw material'. There are frequent errors in articles ('in sorting center', 'a automatic'), prepositions ('throwing ... to dustbin'), subject-verb agreement, and punctuation. These persistent errors cause some difficulty for the reader and reflect a lack of control over basic and complex grammatical forms alike.

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