Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-06

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)

This diagram describes how we can recycle the plastic bottles step by step.

First of all, we see that there is a person who threw the plastic bottle in a recycle bin.

In the 2nd step, there is a truck that is here to receive the plastic botles and bring them to the recycling centre.

In the 3rd step the employe in the recycling centre sorting the plastic bottles according to their weigh and size.

The step 4 describe how the pressing machine compress the plastic bottles and convert these in a cube shape.

The crushing comes into the 5th step. There is a machine in this step who crush the cubes into the pellets.

In the 6th step these pelletes are going into the machine who convert these pellets into the raw material.

Raw material is heated into the step 7 after this step the proper shape is given to the raw material.

In the last step we can produces a lot of recycled goods like pencils,polythene shirts,bottles,boxes and bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response makes an attempt to describe the process of recycling plastic bottles, meeting the minimum length requirement. However, it only addresses the task partially because the overview and main features of the cycle are missing, and some steps are inaccurately reported. For example, the student states in step 5 that the machine crushes cubes into pellets, whereas the diagram shows crushing into washed pieces before pellets are produced in a separate stage. Furthermore, the flow as a closed loop is not clearly synthesised, and the progression relies heavily on a mechanical listing of steps rather than an integrated summary of the overall process.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The text shows some organisation through basic sequencing markers such as 'First of all', 'In the 2nd step', and 'In the last step'. However, there is no clear overall progression or paragraphing, as every single sentence is written as a separate single-line paragraph. This choppy layout disrupts the flow of the description. Cohesive devices are repetitive and mechanical, relying entirely on chronological step numbers rather than referencing or substitution to link ideas smoothly across sentences.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is limited and basic, with frequent word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'botles', 'employe', 'weigh', 'pelletes', and 'polythene shirts'. While the student attempts some less common terms related to the diagram like 'recycling centre', 'compress', and 'raw material', the execution is flawed. These noticeable lexical errors and repetitive phrasing occasionally cause difficulty for the reader and prevent the response from achieving a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The writing demonstrates a very limited range of structures, consisting mainly of simple sentences and faulty attempts at complex clauses. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including tense inconsistencies ('threw' instead of throws), subject-verb agreement issues ('the employe... sorting'), missing articles ('comes into the 5th step'), and incorrect prepositional usage ('into the pellets'). These frequent errors require the reader to decode the meaning and cause noticeable disruption to communication.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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