Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-04

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 5.0)

The diaghrams shows how plastic bottles are recycled . Overall, the pictures contain nine parts begin with when people throw bottles in to the bins and waste it and end in producing end products for new use.

Initially, it starts from when people throw plastic bottlles in to the bin in second step the truck take all the waste material at specific place after it recycling start from sorting and then compressing into blocks. Moreover, it starts crushing and washing furthermore they begin producing plastic pellets and next to it heating pellets to form raw material. In next step raw material is seperated and in the end, they are ready to producing end products.

In conclusion, producing end products like pencils or new water bottles are ready to use overall the nine step process give us information recycle things are good to use and they have not any issue in our life .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response addresses the task only partially. While you attempt to outline the nine stages of the plastic recycling process, the information is presented in a mechanical, list-like manner without clear selection of the main features or effective comparison. For instance, writing "it starts from when people throw plastic bottlles in to the bin in second step the truck take all the waste material" covers the initial stages, but the description lacks detail and clarity. Furthermore, the overview provided in the conclusion is somewhat confused and includes personal commentary ('recycle things are good to use and they have not any issue in our life') rather than a precise summary of the main stages of the diagram. To achieve a higher score, you should present a clear, well-developed overview of the overall process in the introduction and ensure every major stage from sorting to final product creation is described accurately.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation, but the response lacks a clear overall progression. You use some transitional markers such as 'Initially', 'Moreover', and 'In conclusion', but cohesive devices are often mechanical, repetitive, or inaccurate, which disrupts the flow of your writing. Paragraphing is attempted, but the main body is condensed into a single dense block of text that crams multiple sequential steps together ('moreover, it starts crushing and washing furthermore they begin producing...'), making it difficult for the reader to follow the distinct stages of the cycle. To improve, you need to group related stages into logical paragraphs and use a wider variety of cohesive devices more naturally to guide the reader smoothly through the cyclical process.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for the task. You successfully use some basic process-related terms such as 'recycling centre', 'sorting', 'compressing into blocks', and 'plastic pellets'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and spelling mistakes throughout the text, such as 'diaghrams', 'bottlles', and 'seperated'. Word choices are sometimes unnatural, for example stating that people 'waste it' when throwing bottles into bins, or saying they are 'ready to producing end products'. To reach a higher band, you need to expand your lexical range by using less common vocabulary with greater precision, and eliminate spelling and word-form errors that occasionally cause difficulty for the reader.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The grammar demonstrates a very limited range of structures, consisting mostly of simple and frequently faulty sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors, including missing articles ('in second step'), incorrect prepositions ('throw bottles in to the bins'), agreement issues ('The diaghrams shows'), and run-on sentences joined improperly with conjunctions or lacking punctuation. Your attempts at complex structures are often awkward or grammatically incomplete, such as 'nine parts begin with when people throw...'. These frequent errors place a heavy strain on the reader. To improve, you should work on basic sentence boundary punctuation, subject-verb agreement, and accurate use of prepositions and verb tenses when describing a continuous process.

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