Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-13

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 process diagram illustrate the method for recycling plastic bottles.

overall, the process takes nine steps to complete from individual putting trash into the can to the producing end products.

The first step is that someone put trash into the trashcan. Then the trash man put the into their vehicle and the trash went to the sotring centre where an individual sort the plastic bottles. Then they make blocks of they trash and the plastic went to the crushing machine. Under the crushing machine is a water tank that wash the crushed plastic.

Then comes, the pellets process where the plastic pellets are made. After the pellets they went to the heating method. After the heating process the olastic in now in the form of raw materials. From the raw metrials now comes the part where different materials like Pencil, Cloths and, other materials are made. And the process continue in the cycle.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as recycling plastic bottles and give a basic account of its main sequence, from disposal and collection through sorting, crushing, washing, pellet production, heating and making products. The overview that it has nine steps and continues in a cycle is relevant. However, some stages are unclear or omitted: the sorting decision between accepted and rejected bottles is not explained, and the final products are only partly represented by “Pencil, Cloths and, other materials.” The account also does not clearly state that the finished products feed back into the recycling process. Several descriptions, such as “trash man,” are imprecise for the diagram. To strengthen the response, report the key stages more accurately and make the closed-loop feature explicit.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the process in broadly the correct order, and the paragraph break after the overview helps separate the introduction from the stage-by-stage account. Sequencing words such as “Then,” “After,” and “From” guide the reader through the stages. However, the progression becomes mechanical and some links are awkward: “Then comes, the pellets process” and “After the pellets they went to the heating method” do not connect the steps smoothly. The final sentence says the process continues in a cycle but does not clearly link the end products back to the first stage. Use clearer transitions and references, and group the stages into a more deliberate sequence so each sentence leads naturally to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-related vocabulary, including “sorting centre,” “crushing machine,” “pellets,” “heating,” and “raw materials,” which allows the reader to follow much of the process. However, the range is limited and several choices are informal or imprecise: “trash man,” “trashcan,” and “trash” are less suitable than terms such as collection worker, recycling bin, and plastic bottles. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “sotring,” “olastic,” and “metrials,” and some awkward combinations such as “heating method” and “pellets process.” These reduce precision. Aim for accurate process vocabulary and check spelling; use the diagram’s labels where appropriate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple sentences and longer sequences joined with words such as “Then” and “After,” but control is uneven. Errors in verb forms and agreement appear in “The process diagram illustrate,” “someone put,” and “an individual sort.” The sentence “Then the trash man put the into their vehicle” is incomplete, while “After the pellets they went to the heating method” has an unclear subject and reference. Articles and sentence boundaries also need attention, as in “the plastic in now in the form of raw materials.” These errors sometimes make the process difficult to interpret. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and consistent present tense, and proofread agreement, articles, and punctuation.

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