Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-11

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 given diagram illustrates the procedure of recycling plastic bottles and turning them into heavily used products.

Overall, the process involves users throwing away of plastic bottles to collection and converting it to reusable common materials like pen, box, bottles as well as bag and t-shirt.

After the use of the bottle, it is thrown to the dustbin by the user and waste carrying vehicles collect these followed by sorting out of bottles in the recycling center. Furthermore, they are put under some compressor that applies huge load and compresses these bottles into blocks. These blocks are crushed to small pieces by the crusher and automatically goes into a tank of water where these pieces get washed.

To shape these pieces to usable materials, they need heating. But for proper and quick heating, the size of these pieces need to be further smaller. So, plastic pellets are produced after the washing. When the pallets are ready, they are heated and transformed into raw materials. From the raw materials, usable materials can be manufactured again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages from disposal and collection through sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and conversion into raw material. Your overview also identifies the cycle’s purpose: producing reusable goods, and the examples of a bottle, containers, clothing and a bag are consistent with the diagram. This gives the account a clear, relevant foundation. Some details are less fully or accurately explained, however. The diagram shows that sorting separates acceptable bottles from rejected items, and that the finished products feed back into the cycle; neither point is made explicit. The explanation that pieces must be made smaller “for proper and quick heating” is not shown in the visual. To strengthen the response, report only visible stages and clarify how the final products complete the loop.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by the early processing stages and then the later stages. Sequencing expressions such as “After the use,” “Furthermore,” and “When the pallets are ready” help the reader follow the process. However, the progression becomes less clear in the final paragraph: “To shape these pieces to usable materials” introduces an explanation that is not clearly linked to the diagram, and “So” makes the transition to pellet production sound like a conclusion to that explanation. Some references are also vague, particularly “these” in “waste carrying vehicles collect these.” Use clearer stage-to-stage links and refer explicitly to bottles, crushed plastic, pellets and products. A separate paragraph for the overview and one for the process stages would also make the organisation more effective.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of process vocabulary, including “sorting,” “compresses,” “crushed,” “washed,” “pellets” and “raw materials,” so the stages are generally understandable. There are also attempts at more specific language, such as “recycling center” and “collection.” However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or unnatural: “dustbin” is not the recycling bin shown, “heavily used products” does not mean commonly produced goods, and “huge load” is an awkward description of compression. “Pallets” is also confused with “pellets,” which names the plastic material in the diagram. Aim for precise process terms and natural collocations, and check spelling and word forms. This would make the description clearer and more controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the sequence “When the pallets are ready, they are heated…”. The main meaning is usually recoverable, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “throwing away of plastic bottles” has an awkward construction, while “these pieces get washed” shifts into an informal passive-like form. In “these pieces need to be further smaller,” the comparative structure is incorrect, and “the size … need” has a subject–verb agreement error. The sentence beginning “To shape these pieces to usable materials” also has an unclear grammatical relationship between the pieces and the materials. Practise accurate passive forms and agreement, and revise complex sentences so that each clause has a clear subject and relationship to the next.

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