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)

The diagram illustrates the several stages involved in the recycling of plastic bottles, from their initial collection to the production of new products.

Overall, the recycling process consists of various stages, starting with the collection of used plastic bottle from a recycling bin and ending with the production of new recycled products.

Initially, used plastic bottles are placed in a recycling bin, which then collected by a man to tranfer it into the recycling truck. Follwing this, they are sorted according to their type after arrived at the recycling centre. After that, these sorted material then undergo in the compressing stage and coverted bottles into a compressed block. Then these pieces were then crushed into small pieces. These pieces then washed thorougly for the next step.

Following the washing stage, these used bottles then undergo a

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the topic and give a basic overview, correctly stating that the process begins with bottles being put in a recycling bin and leads to new products. You also report several early stages, including collection, sorting, compressing, crushing and washing. However, the response addresses the process only partially: it stops mid-sentence at “undergo a” and omits the later stages of pellet production, heating, raw material formation and manufacture of end products. The overview therefore does not convey the full cycle shown in the diagram. The response is also below the required 150 words, which contributes to its limited coverage. To improve, complete the sequence and summarise how the final products feed back into the recycling process.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction and overview are followed by a chronological account of the early stages. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “Following this,” and “After that” help the reader follow the process. However, the progression is incomplete because the final paragraph breaks off at “undergo a,” leaving the account without a conclusion or a clear transition through the later stages. Some linking is also repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “Then” and “These pieces then.” Organise the stages into complete paragraphs and use references such as “the resulting material” to connect steps more smoothly. A complete final paragraph would make the overall progression clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling centre,” “sorted,” “compressing,” “compressed block,” and “crushed,” so the main early stages are generally identifiable. There is some repetition of “used plastic bottles,” “pieces,” and “stage,” and several spelling errors—“tranfer,” “Follwing,” “coverted,” and “thorougly”—make the writing less controlled. Some word combinations are also imprecise, such as “undergo in the compressing stage”; more natural process language would be “are compressed.” The unfinished phrase “undergo a” further limits the range demonstrated. Aim for accurate spelling and more precise terms for the material as it changes, such as “plastic fragments,” “pellets,” and “raw material.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the opening phrase “from their initial collection to the production of new products” and a sequence of passive constructions. However, errors are frequent and sometimes make relationships between actions unclear. For example, “which then collected by a man” is missing an auxiliary verb, while “after arrived at the recycling centre” needs a subject and a correctly formed clause. “These sorted material then undergo” also has agreement and verb-form problems, and “converted bottles into a compressed block” lacks a clear passive construction. The tense shifts from present (“are placed”) to past (“were then crushed”) without a reason. Use consistent present simple passive forms to describe the process, and check each clause for a subject and finite verb.

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