Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-08

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 cyclical process below demonstrates the process of recycling plastic bottles and produce a new product out of them.

Overall, the process consist of 9 stages contain all the recycling process. From start it displays how the used plastics bottles are recycled in recycling center and transformed into a recycled brand new product.

Initially, the plastic bottles normal public throughout like trash in dustbins. They are recycled by the factory employers from trash bins and loaded them into a recycling truck. It shifts all the employed products in the recycling center. Additionally, the person working there sort them into a summarized manner and separate them from useless items. After rearranging them they compress them into pieces and turn them into blocks.

Following the further cyclical process the blocks are crushed into a crushing equipment so that they can purify the dirt. Moreover, after washing the mini pieces they are pored into another machine equipment for producing plastic pellets. On the seventh stage the heating pellets were used to form a raw material so that the raw material is used to make products. In the final analysis, different products and items were made to exemplify bottles and bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence from disposal and collection through sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating into raw material. The overview also identifies the process as cyclical and notes that it produces new items, which captures its central purpose. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: bottles are put into a recycling bin by the public, rather than collected by factory employees from ordinary dustbins, and sorting separates acceptable bottles from rejected items rather than simply arranging them. The final stage is also underdeveloped: the diagram shows several products, including food containers, a T-shirt and pencils, as well as bottles and bags. A more precise account of the sorting and the return arrow from end products to the start would make the coverage more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by the early stages and then the later stages. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “Following,” and “In the final analysis” help the reader follow the process, and the stages are generally presented in the correct order. This coherent progression is a strength. Some links are less natural or precise, however: “Additionally” does not clearly show the relationship between collection and sorting, while “Following the further cyclical process” is awkward and does not signal the next stage clearly. The final paragraph also stops at the products without explicitly connecting them back to the beginning of the cycle. Use straightforward stage transitions and make the loop’s return explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “compress,” “crushed,” “washing,” “pellets,” and “raw material,” which helps communicate the sequence. There is also an attempt to vary wording, for example “transformed” and “exemplify.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or difficult to understand, such as “normal public throughout like trash in dustbins,” “summarized manner,” “employed products,” and “pored into another machine equipment.” “Purify the dirt” also does not clearly describe washing the crushed plastic. These noticeable problems limit precision and sometimes make the reader work to infer the intended meaning. Prefer familiar, accurate process terms and check that each verb naturally fits its object, such as “the public place bottles in recycling bins” and “the pieces are fed into a machine.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses of purpose (“so that they can purify the dirt”) and time (“after washing the mini pieces”). The sequence remains understandable overall, but errors in agreement, verb forms and sentence construction are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to process. For example, “the process consist of 9 stages contain” needs a correctly formed main verb and a clearer clause, while “person working there sort them” has a subject–verb agreement error. “They are recycled by the factory employers … and loaded them” also shifts awkwardly between passive and active structures. Tense use is inconsistent in “the heating pellets were used.” Practise building accurate stage descriptions with a consistent present passive, such as “The bottles are sorted, compressed and crushed.”

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