Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-03

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 for recycling plastic bottles.

Overall, recycling process done in nine different steps, from collecting garbages to shorting it and processing shorted garbage to get final products.

Very first step is collect used plastic bottles in to dustbins. Garbage collector truck is used to collect grabages from different locatation and transport it to the recycling center. At the recycling center, manual sorting is performed to distunguish the plastic bottles. In next step bottels were compressed into blocks which send to the crusher. At fifth step two rotating gears crush block into small particals. Which is collected into tub for washing. Now these samll particals send to the mechine which is used to convert these particals into plastic pellets. Plastic pellets were heated to form raw material. Row materials are collected in next step which are further used to producing end products. After use, these products again send for recycling process.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by outlining the nine stages of the plastic bottle recycling process, providing a general overview as required. However, certain parts of the process are developed more fully than others, and some details are generalized. For instance, the transition from collection to sorting is stated, but some steps like 'Raw material' and the final loop back to the beginning are described rather briefly without fully expanding on how the cycle sustains itself. To reach a higher band, the response would need to present a more fully developed and extended overview of the main trends and relationships across all stages without relying on overly simplistic descriptions of individual steps.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay displays a coherent overall arrangement, successfully guiding the reader through the linear and cyclical nature of the diagram from the initial disposal of bottles to the creation of end products. Cohesive devices are employed to connect the stages, using sequencing expressions such as 'Very first step', 'In next step', and 'At fifth step'. However, cohesion can sometimes feel mechanical, and referencing is occasionally faulty, such as the abrupt transitions between sentences in the body paragraph. Paragraphing is also limited, as the main body of the process is compressed into a single block of text rather than being broken down into logical phases. Better paragraph structuring and more varied, flexible cohesive ties would enhance the flow of the writing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the basic mechanical actions shown in the diagram, such as 'compressing', 'crushing', 'washing', and 'heating'. There are, however, noticeable spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, including 'garbabges', 'shorting' instead of sorting, 'locatation', 'distunguish', 'bottels', 'samll', 'mechine', and 'Row materials'. While these slips do not completely impede communication, they reflect a limited control over spelling and word formation. Attempting less common lexical items with greater precision and eliminating basic spelling errors would be necessary to achieve a higher band score in this criterion.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting to describe sequential actions using passive and active structures, such as 'bottels were compressed into blocks which send to the crusher'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly missing articles ('is collect used plastic bottles', 'in to dustbins', 'into tub'), incorrect prepositions ('in to', 'from different locatation'), and faulty verb forms and agreement ('recycling process done', 'Which is collected'). Although these errors rarely impede overall communication because the context of the diagram helps clarify the meaning, they persist throughout the response and indicate a need for closer control over basic sentence construction and grammatical accuracy.

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