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 recycling of plastic bottle.

Overall, the process contained nine stages, they initiate with collecting used plastic bottle and sorting it before it went to compressed into block. whereas it produce certains thing from plastic bottle such as, water bottle, food container, bag, pencil and T-shirt.

To begin with, people threw the plastic garbage in common dustbin from that it transfer to recycling centre through big garbage truck. Moreover, sorting bottles in different bucket with help of manforced. However, before it prepaired for crushing it went through compressing big block which was made of plastic bottle.

In stage four, that block start crusing in two metal rolling maching and that particals went into water for washing. After that washed paticals moved into machine, it producing plastic pellets which contained very high heat. Furthermore, that heating pellets to form raw material for final product. The raw material was ready to sell. Finally, the different product made from plastic bottle such as, bottle, plastic container, pencil and plastic bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages and include a clear overall summary: the process begins with collecting and sorting bottles, then produces several new items. Most details match the diagram, including compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating. The response also identifies examples of end products. This meets the task well, though some stages are less fully or precisely explained. For example, the opening says bottles are put in a “common dustbin,” whereas the diagram shows a recycling bin, and the account does not clearly explain that the finished products feed back into the cycle. The statement that pellets “contained very high heat” also misrepresents the heating stage: pellets are heated to form raw material. Clarifying these points and describing the closed loop would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure, with an overview followed by a chronological account, and sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “After that,” and “Finally” help guide the reader. The stages are generally presented in the correct order. However, some links are mechanical or unclear, and the overview’s sentence joining nine stages to the first actions with a comma makes the relationship between ideas difficult to follow. “Moreover” and “However” do not express the intended relationships in their contexts, while “In stage four” is confusing because the account has already described several stages. Use clearer paragraphing and refer to each transition directly—for example, “Next, the compressed blocks are crushed”—and make the final return to the start explicit.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “sorting,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw material,” so the reader can follow the general subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices, collocations and spelling errors reduce precision. “Common dustbin” is not an accurate term for the recycling bin, “manforced” is unclear, and “particals” is misspelled. Phrases such as “certain thing” and “different product” are vague, while “the raw material was ready to sell” does not describe the diagram’s process precisely. Aim for accurate, specific process language and check spelling; for instance, describe bottles being sorted into accepted and rejected items, then processed into new products.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including a relative clause in “which was made of plastic bottle” and a sequence of actions linked with “After that.” However, errors in sentence structure, verb forms, agreement and articles are frequent enough to make some sentences difficult to interpret. For example, “The process diagram illustrate” needs subject–verb agreement, and “they initiate with collecting … before it went to compressed” shifts tense and uses an incorrect verb pattern. The overview also joins two independent clauses with a comma. Use the present simple consistently for a process, and practise clear passive forms such as “the bottles are compressed” and “the pellets are heated.” Check articles and plurals as well, as in “a plastic bottle” and “plastic bottles.”

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