Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The given photograph depicts the procedure of recycling plastic bottles.

Overall, it is crystal clear that the procedure have total 9 steps from garbage bottles to produce new products.

At the first people garbage the plastic bottles in the given large dustbins, at second the truck come and pick the scrap of plastic bottles and other material , which goes to recycling center . The workers sorts the bottles according to their material in different boxes and then compressing the bottles in to blocks. After that blocks goes to crushing machine for crushing material and get washed in water.

The washed plastic scrap sends to next machine for making plastic pellets, the pellets get heated on heating machine for making raw material and place them into according to material .At the last the final products get done like bottles, boxes , t shirts and bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the main stages in the correct order, from putting bottles in a bin through collection, sorting, compression, crushing, washing and pellet production to new products. The overview also recognises a nine-stage process, and examples such as bottles, T-shirts and bags are supported by the diagram. However, the account is brief and some details are unclear or inaccurate: sorting is described as separating bottles “according to their material,” whereas the diagram shows accepted and rejected items; the final raw-material stage is not clearly explained. The response is also five words below the required minimum. Add a fuller overview of the recycling loop and clarify how the raw material leads to end products.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages are generally presented in sequence, and transitions such as “At the first,” “After that” and “At the last” help the reader follow the process. However, the response is written as one dense paragraph, so the overview and the detailed stages are not clearly separated. Several transitions are awkward or repetitive, and the long middle sentence joins many actions without clear boundaries, making the progression harder to follow. Use a short overview paragraph followed by a separate process paragraph, and connect stages with accurate, varied expressions such as “Next,” “Following this” and “Once the pellets are heated.” Clearer sentence boundaries would also improve the flow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling center,” “compressing,” “crushing machine,” “plastic pellets” and “raw material,” so the reader can understand the general subject. However, the range is limited and several choices are imprecise or unnatural, such as “garbage bottles,” “dustbins,” “scrap of plastic bottles” and “the final products get done.” Repetition of “bottles,” “material” and “machine” also limits flexibility. Choose more precise terms from the diagram, for example “discarded bottles,” “recycling bin,” “plastic waste” and “end products.” Check collocations as well: products are “made” or “manufactured,” rather than “done.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response communicates the broad sequence, but grammatical control is inconsistent and the sentence patterns are mostly simple or joined with “and.” Errors include subject–verb agreement in “the procedure have” and “The workers sorts,” as well as tense and form problems in “the truck come and pick” and “At the first people garbage.” Articles, plurals and prepositions are also unreliable, as in “in to blocks” and “goes to crushing machine.” These errors sometimes make the process difficult to interpret. Practise accurate passive forms suited to process descriptions—for example, “The bottles are sorted and then compressed into blocks”—and use a mix of shorter sentences and correctly formed clauses.

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