Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-05

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 picture illustrate the process how plastic bottles are recycled and convert into the bottle shape and other products that is use in our daily life.

Overall, the picture gives the information of recycling process. This process is complete after passing some steps. First of all, as the given picture a man throw the bottles into the dust bin and second a truck takes the bottles into the recycling center for sorting and spread the better bottles. The fourth steps, compressing the bottles into the blocks and next step the blocks crushing into very small pieces and washing.

After washing, it pass to the sixth process. In this process producing plastic pellets and in seventh steps heating pellets and it convert into raw material. This process is very difficult then the other process and take a long time. Raw material is use for many products such as plastics bags, bottles, pencils, jackets, and this process is repeated many time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response attempts to describe the main stages of the plastic bottle recycling process, but the information is only partially covered. While the student outlines several steps in the sequence—such as throwing bottles into a bin, sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, pelletising, and producing new items—some stages are presented with limited clarity and under-developed detail. Furthermore, the description contains irrelevant personal commentary or inaccurate extrapolations not found in the diagram, such as stating that 'this process is very difficult then the other process and take a long time.' To achieve a higher score, the response needs to present a more accurate, objective overview of all key stages shown in the visual data without introducing outside assumptions or unsupported generalisations.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is some basic organisation in the response, beginning with an introductory sentence and attempting a sequential overview, but the overall progression lacks clarity and logical flow. Cohesive devices are used rather mechanically and repetitively, such as 'First of all', 'second', 'The fourth steps', and 'next step', which creates a disjointed reading experience. Paragraphing is also somewhat poorly managed, with the second paragraph crowding multiple distinct steps together into a single block of text. To improve, the student should ensure a clearer logical progression between sentences and paragraphs, and employ a wider, more natural variety of cohesive links to guide the reader smoothly through the stages of the process.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The student successfully employs some basic topic-related terms such as 'recycling process', 'sorting', 'compressing', 'crushing', and 'raw material'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices throughout the response, including 'picture illustrate', 'convert into the bottle shape', 'is use', and 'spread the better bottles'. Additionally, word form errors are present, such as 'The fourth steps' instead of 'The fourth step'. To move up to a higher band, the writer needs to incorporate a wider and more precise range of vocabulary, use less common lexical items accurately, and pay closer attention to word forms and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and basic clauses. Attempts at more complex structures are frequently faulty, leading to ungrammatical constructions such as 'The picture illustrate the process how plastic bottles are recycled'. There are frequent errors in verb forms, tense usage, articles, and prepositions, such as 'a man throw the bottles', 'pass to the sixth process', and 'is repeated many time'. These frequent grammatical errors cause some difficulty for the reader and impede the clarity of the message. To achieve a higher score, the student must demonstrate better control over basic sentence grammar, verb agreements, and punctuation while attempting a wider variety of error-free complex structures.

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