Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-12

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 diagram illustrates the process of unused waste bottle recycling.

In the first stage, bottles are thrown in the garbage box then, plactic bottles are being collected by the collector of recycling company in a truck, meanwhile these plastic material then goes to recycling centre where a women worker is shorting these plactic bottle. Futhermore, this waste plactic goes to a process where it is compresed into a box shape, nevertheless, a crusher is being used to make small pieces of the plastic material now in the next step these tiny pieces washed carefully.

moving further, for making plastic pellets, it is crucial to use a machine which would create more tiny particuls of the pellets, furthermore to form these pellets into raw material heat is mendatory to be applied. Next raw material is now ready to make products such as bottle, pencil, tiffin box, t-shirt, and carry bags so on. Now the products is ready to sell into the market.

overall, for making the final product all processes are mendatory,if any of these step may skip that can halt the whole process.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main sequence from disposal and collection through sorting, processing, and making new products, and you include several examples shown in the diagram. However, the account is only partly complete: it does not clearly state that the process is a closed loop, with end products returning to the recycling bin, and the final comment that every stage is mandatory and skipping one would halt the process is an unsupported inference. Some stages are also imprecise: the pellets are heated to form raw material, rather than being formed into raw material by an unspecified process. A clearer overview of the cycle and more exact reporting of the diagram’s key stages would make the summary more fully developed.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a generally understandable order, moving from the initial disposal of bottles to the production of new goods, and the paragraph break helps separate the later stages. Linking expressions such as “In the first stage,” “moving further,” and “Next” guide the reader through the process. This gives the account a coherent overall arrangement. However, some connections are mechanical or do not express the relationship accurately: “nevertheless” suggests contrast where the crusher is simply the next step, while “meanwhile” is not needed for the sequence. The long first paragraph also combines several stages in one sentence. Use shorter, clearly punctuated sentences and more precise sequencing links to make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “recycling centre,” “crusher,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw material,” and you name several end products. However, the range and control are limited by repeated use of “plastic,” “process,” and “material,” as well as inaccurate or awkward choices such as “garbage box,” “collector of recycling company,” and “shorting.” Spelling errors, including “plactic,” “Futhermore,” and “particuls,” are noticeable and sometimes make the reader pause. Aim for precise process vocabulary and check spelling carefully; for example, describe bottles as being placed in a recycling bin, collected by a truck, and sorted at the centre.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect stages using longer sentences and subordinate clauses, but complex structures are often faulty, and errors occur frequently enough to make parts of the description less clear. For example, “these plastic material then goes” has problems with number agreement, while “the products is ready” also mismatches subject and verb. The sentence beginning “In the first stage” runs through several stages without clear punctuation, and “these tiny pieces washed carefully” is missing an auxiliary verb. There is some use of passive forms, which suits a process description, but control is inconsistent. Practise forming accurate passive clauses, such as “the bottles are sorted” and “the pellets are heated,” and separate each stage into a complete sentence.

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