Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

the given prosess diagram illustrate the process how plastic bottles are recycled and producing a products

overall, the diagram includes nine steps and this is a man made process the first step bottles drop in waste box then this bottles load in the truck and send to recycling center and perform several steps and convert into usefull products

to commence with, all the usefull plastic bottles throw into the waste boxes and the truck collect all the used bottles and send to the recycling center where the bottles seperates and the good conditions plastic bottles send to compressing and convert into blocks,after that the blockes pass into the crushing process

in contrast, after the crushing the dropes into washing box. then send into the meachine and producing plastic pellets and the pellets pass through the heating process and convert into raw material and this raw material asuumed a special shape. and producing a necessary products such as pencial, shirts , bags and plastic bottles for retail purpous

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main features of the nine-step plastic recycling process. An overview is successfully presented in the second paragraph, which notes the total number of stages and the man-made nature of the cycle. However, some aspects of the process are underdeveloped or slightly unclear, such as the transition between sorting, compressing, and crushing stages. While the major steps from disposal to final product creation are covered, further extension and precise detailing of intermediate phases would be required to reach a higher level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with a clear attempt to structure the response into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Logical connectors such as 'to commence with', 'after that', and 'in contrast' are used to sequence information, although some cohesive devices are mechanical or awkwardly placed, such as using 'in contrast' where a sequential transition is expected. Paragraphing is present, but internal referencing and transitions between sentences occasionally lack fluidity, leading to a somewhat disjointed flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating process-specific terms like 'recycling center', 'plastic pellets', and 'raw material'. However, there are noticeable spelling errors throughout the response, including 'prosess' for process, 'usefull' for useful, 'seperates' for separates, 'blockes' for blocks, 'meachine' for machine, 'asuumed' for assumed, 'pencial' for pencil, and 'purpous' for purpose. These errors, alongside occasional word choice inaccuracies, reflect limitations at this level, though communication is generally maintained.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, though control over grammatical structures is inconsistent. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense consistency, and subject-verb agreement, such as 'the given prosess diagram illustrate', 'bottles drop in waste box', and 'the dropes into washing box'. Additionally, punctuation is largely neglected, with run-on sentences and missing capitalization at the beginning of sentences. While these errors rarely impede overall comprehension, their frequency prevents the writing from achieving higher grammatical standing.

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