Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-09

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 6.0)

The process chart illustrate the process of recycling platic bottles.

Overall, it is evident that the process consist of nine stages. It begins with gathering the plastic waste and ends with producing the end products which are useful.

Firstly, keep the plastic bottles in the particular containers. Then, it is collected by the specialized team members. The waste is sent to the recycling centre is the third stage following this with the sorting process by the humans. In fourth stage , all the plastic bottles are compressed into huge blocks. Next, the waste is passed through a machine to crush the blocks and later washing is done.

Moreover, washed particles are used to form plastic pellets. After that, heating the pellets to convert it into raw material. In the final stage the end products are produced from raw material such as lunch boxes, pencils, water bottles, shirts and paper bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers the main stages in the correct order, from placing bottles in containers through collection, sorting, compression, crushing, washing and pellet production to new products. The overview also identifies the process as having nine stages and describes its beginning and end. These features make the account relevant and generally accurate. However, some details are less fully reported: the sorting stage’s separation of acceptable and rejected bottles is not explained, and the final products are listed without noting that the diagram shows the cycle returning to the recycling bin. The description of heating pellets to create raw material is present but brief. Including these details would make the summary more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by the stages in sequence, with a later paragraph covering pellet production and the final products. Sequencing expressions such as “Firstly,” “Then,” “Next,” and “After that” help the reader follow the process. However, some links are mechanical, and the transition “Moreover” does not clearly signal the next stage in a sequence. The sentence about the recycling centre is also awkwardly connected (“is the third stage following this with…”), which interrupts progression. Use clearer stage-by-stage sentences and vary linking language to show sequence and cause, while grouping related stages into paragraphs.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The response uses relevant process vocabulary, including “compressed,” “crush,” “washing,” “pellets,” and “raw material,” and the examples of end products help convey the diagram. However, several word choices or collocations are imprecise, such as “keep the plastic bottles in the particular containers” and “specialized team members”; the diagram shows bottles being placed in a recycling bin and collected by a truck. There are also spelling errors in “platic” and “consist,” and “paper bags” is less accurate than the carrier bag shown. Aim for precise process terms and natural collocations, such as “deposit bottles in a recycling bin” and “a collection truck transports them.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple sentences and attempts at more complex structures, and the main stages remain understandable. Some grammatical errors are noticeable, however. In the overview, “the process consist” needs subject–verb agreement (“consists”), while “it begins … and ends …” is a sound parallel structure. The sentence “The waste is sent to the recycling centre is the third stage” incorrectly joins two clauses; it could be revised as “The third stage takes place at the recycling centre, where the bottles are sorted.” The fragment “After that, heating the pellets…” also needs a finite verb, for example, “After that, the pellets are heated…” Check articles and number as well, as in “in the fourth stage” and “convert them.”

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