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 recyclining process of plastic bottles.

Overall, there are total nine steps, starting from throwing plastic bottles in dustbins to recycle them and new products are formed by going through different procedures.

In the first step, the used plastic bottles are thrown in the dustbins by people and in the second step, the garbage trucks come to collect these plastic bottles from dustbins. In the third step, the truck take the plastic bottles to the recycling center where the process of sorting starts. In the fourth step, the process of compressing start where the bottles compress into a blocks.

In the fifth step, the blocks are crushed by machine and washed. In the sixth step, plastic pellets are produces through machine. In the seventh step, the pallets are heated to form a raw material. In the seventh step, raw material is formed. In the ninth step, products are formed like pencil, shirts, bottles, box and bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response covers the main steps of the plastic bottle recycling process, from the initial disposal by individuals to the final production of new goods. However, the report suffers from several limitations that keep it at a partial level. While the overall trend of a cyclical process is briefly mentioned in the introduction, the description of individual steps tends to be a mechanical listing rather than a well-synthesised overview. For instance, the writer lists every single step sequentially ('In the first step...', 'In the second step...', all the way to the ninth step) without grouping related stages together or highlighting key features effectively. Furthermore, there is a repetition error near the end of the text, where the seventh step is mistakenly repeated ('In the seventh step, the pallets are heated to form a raw material. In the seventh step, raw material is formed.'), which causes confusion in the reporting of the sequence. To reach a higher level, the response should group related stages logically and provide a more integrated summary of the entire diagram rather than relying on a rigid, repetitive list-like format.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement because the steps are presented in the correct chronological order, reflecting the natural flow of the diagram. However, the cohesion is quite mechanical and repetitive. The writer relies heavily on the formulaic transition phrase 'In the [ordinal number] step' to introduce nearly every single sentence in the body paragraphs. While this creates a clear sequence, it makes the progression monotonous and lacks sophisticated cohesive devices. Additionally, referencing is occasionally repetitive due to the structural template used. Paragraphing is also underdeveloped, as almost the entire body of the report is clumped together into a single block of text rather than being divided logically into distinct phases of the process (such as collection and sorting versus processing and manufacturing). To improve, the writer should vary cohesive devices, avoid repetitive sentence starters, and organise the text into appropriate paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is relatively limited and repetitive, though it is minimally adequate to convey the basic stages of the diagram. The student successfully uses some process-related terms such as 'recycling center', 'sorting', 'compressing', 'crushed', 'washed', and 'plastic pellets'. However, there are notable spelling errors, such as 'recyclining' in the opening sentence, and word choice inaccuracies or non-standard forms, such as 'produces' instead of 'produced' and 'pallets' instead of 'pellets'. Furthermore, the range of vocabulary is restricted, with frequent recycling of basic words like 'step', 'plastic bottles', and 'form'. There is little attempt to use less common lexical items or synonyms to describe the stages with precision. To achieve a higher score, the student needs to expand their vocabulary range, eliminate spelling mistakes, and use appropriate word forms and collocations consistently throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a limited range of grammatical structures, consisting mostly of simple sentences or basic active constructions (e.g., 'the garbage trucks come to collect...', 'the blocks are crushed by machine'). Attempts at more complex or varied structures are largely absent, and there are frequent grammatical errors. These include subject-verb agreement issues and tense inconsistencies, such as 'the process of compressing start where the bottles compress into a blocks' (where 'start' should be 'starts', and 'a blocks' contains an incorrect article with a plural noun). Other errors involve missing articles and prepositions, such as 'take the plastic bottles to recycling center' and 'products are formed like pencil, shirts, bottles, box and bags'. These frequent errors occasionally cause minor difficulty for the reader and demonstrate a lack of control over complex sentence forms. To improve, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of complex sentence patterns and carefully check basic grammatical rules such as articles, plurals, and verb agreement.

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