Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-07

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 depicts how plastic bottles are recycled. First, plastic bottles are taken from the garbage and taken to a recycling center, where they are sorted. After sorting, bottles are compressed and then crushed, where all the plastic bottles are crushed. After that, they produce plastic pellets for a smooth process, and then they send that materila for heating process and it is converted into raw materials. After all that process, they make clothes, bottles and plastic bags from that raw material.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the general subject and several central stages: bottles are sorted, compressed, crushed, made into pellets, heated into raw material, and turned into products. However, the account is very brief and omits important parts of the process, including placing bottles in a recycling bin, collection by truck, washing, and the loop back from finished products to the start. The overview is also incomplete: it does not explain that this is a cyclical process or mention the sorting of unsuitable bottles. The phrase “taken from the garbage” is not supported by the diagram. The response is 82 words, below the required 150, which leaves the stages and overall features substantially under-reported.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages you include are presented in a broadly logical order, and sequencing phrases such as “First,” “After sorting,” and “After that” help the reader follow the process. This gives the response a basic progression. However, the account is a single short paragraph, and the links between some stages are unclear: “After that, they produce plastic pellets” does not specify who “they” refers to or how the crushed plastic is processed. “After all that process” is also an imprecise transition. Organise the response into an overview and a fuller chronological description, and use clear references to the material or process at each step.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “sorted,” “compressed,” “crushed,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw materials,” so the main stages are generally understandable. The range is limited, however, and several expressions are repetitive or imprecise. For example, “crushed” is repeated in the same sentence, while “for a smooth process” does not clearly describe what happens to the plastic. “They make clothes” is understandable but less precise than describing the production of end products. There is also a spelling error in “materila.” Aim for more accurate process terms and vary references to the plastic as it changes form, such as bottles, fragments, pellets, and raw material.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

Most sentences communicate a basic sequence, and you attempt to connect clauses, for example in “After sorting, bottles are compressed and then crushed.” However, the response relies mainly on simple sentence patterns, so it shows limited grammatical range. Some constructions are awkward or unclear, particularly “After that, they produce plastic pellets … and then they send that materila for heating process,” where the subject shifts and the process is not expressed cleanly. The final sentence, “After all that process, they make clothes,” also has an unnatural grammatical pattern. Practise using consistent passive forms for a process description, such as “the plastic is washed,” “pellets are heated,” and “the material is used to produce…”.

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