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 diagram illustrates the process for recycling plastic bottles.

Overall, It is so need for people to recycled plastic bottle nowadays. The recycle of bottle consist several stages. First, people storing bottle then truck transferred bottle for compressing and finally by raw material produce many things.

In the beginning bottles are throw by individuals into dustbin then truck have been transferred bottles into recycling centre for sorting after, sorting bottles have been compressed into blocks then compressed bottles put into crushing while crosser make bottles into smaller pieces then impurities remove from small pieces by washing. After removal of impurities washing bottles put into machine for producing plastic pellets afterwards pellets were heated to form raw materials.

Consequently, from heated pellets form raw materials. From raw materials many products were formed for instance clothes, pencil, bags, tiffins and bottles. Bottles are then used by many individuals for many purpose and it also ready to recycle again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by summarising the main features of the plastic bottle recycling process. It provides a general overview in the opening paragraph and outlines the key stages from discarding bottles to producing raw materials and final products. However, some stages are under-developed or described with vague generalisations, such as 'then truck have been transferred bottles into recycling centre for sorting after', without fully capturing the mechanical and sequential nuances shown in the diagram. While the main direction of the process is clear, the lack of fully extended descriptions for intermediate steps keeps the task response at the present level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows the chronological sequence of the diagram. Progression is attempted using transition words and sequence markers such as 'In the beginning', 'then', and 'Consequently'. However, cohesion is frequently mechanical and fault-prone, with run-on sentences and inadequate referencing that disrupt the flow. Paragraphing is used to separate the introduction, body description, and conclusion, but internal paragraph cohesion suffers from awkward transitions and a lack of smooth signposting between the complex steps of the industrial cycle.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and barely adequate for the task, with noticeable word-choice and word-form errors that occasionally impede communication. The student attempts less common vocabulary related to the process, such as 'impurities', 'pellets', and 'compressing', but misuses word forms and collocations, as seen in phrases like 'so need for people to recycled', 'storing bottle', and 'crosser make bottles into smaller pieces' instead of crusher. Spelling and morphological errors, such as 'throw' instead of thrown and 'washing bottles' instead of washed bottles, further restrict the lexical score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The text displays a very limited range of sentence structures, relying heavily on basic attempts at complex sentences that are frequently faulty. There are frequent errors in verb forms, voice, subject-verb agreement, and articles throughout the response, such as 'bottles are throw by individuals', 'truck have been transferred', and 'from heated pellets form raw materials'. Punctuation is also weak, resulting in run-on sentences and a lack of proper clause separation. These recurring grammatical inaccuracies require effort from the reader to decode the intended meaning.

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