Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-14

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 7.0)

The diagram below illustrates the process of recycling plastic bottles and turning them into new products.

Overall, the recycling process consists of several stages, beginning with the disposal of used plastic bottles in recycling bins and ending with the production of new items. It involves collecting, sorting, processing and manufacturing.

First, people put their used plastic bottles into recycling bins. In the second stage, a recycling truck collects the bottles and transports the to a recycling center. Once they arrived, the bottles are sorted by workers. Recycled bottles are separated from unsuitable waste.

Next the selected bottles are compressed into large blocks. These blocks are then broken into small pieces, which are washed and remove dirt and other impurities. After that clean plastic bottles are processed by a machine to produce plastic pallets. In the following stage, the pallets are heated and melts to create raw material for manufacturing. This material is then used to make a variety of new products. These include new plastic bottles, clothes, shopping bags and other useful items.

In conculsion, recycling plastic bottles helps reduce waste and allows used plastic to be converted into useful new products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You give a clear overview of the process, identifying its start with bottles placed in bins and its end with new products, and you report the main stages in the correct order. Details such as sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating are all grounded in the diagram. The examples of end products also support the description. However, the final sentence about recycling reducing waste is a general benefit rather than a feature shown in the process, and “clothes” is less precise than the diagram’s T-shirt. To strengthen the response further, keep the account strictly focused on the illustrated stages and describe the closed loop more explicitly, including that some end products can re-enter the recycling process.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised into a clear introduction, overview and chronological account, with paragraphs that help distinguish the general summary from the stages. Sequencing expressions such as “First,” “Next,” “After that” and “In the following stage” make the progression easy to follow. The final sentence provides a concluding comment, although it repeats the general idea of turning used plastic into useful products rather than adding a process detail. Some links between stages could be more precise: for example, “This material” clearly refers to the raw material, but the transition from the products back to the initial collection stage is not explained. More varied, unobtrusive linking and a clearer reference to the loop would make the progression feel more fully connected.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

You use an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “transports,” “sorted,” “compressed,” “impurities” and “raw material,” which helps convey the stages clearly. There is some flexibility in describing the transformation from bottles to products. However, several word-choice and spelling slips limit precision: “plastic pallets” should be “plastic pellets,” and “conculsion” is misspelled. “Broken into small pieces” is understandable, but “crushed into small pieces” is more natural for this process; “clothes” is also less specific than “a T-shirt.” These issues do not prevent understanding, but careful proofreading and more exact process terminology would make the vocabulary more controlled and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

You use a mix of simple and complex structures, including the overview sentence beginning “Overall” and the relative clause “which are washed.” Most of the sequence remains understandable, and the passive form “are sorted” suits a process description. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “transports the to a recycling center,” the object pronoun should be “them”; “Once they arrived” shifts tense and should be “Once they arrive” or “Once they have arrived.” In “which are washed and remove dirt,” the verbs do not share a consistent subject, and “the pallets are heated and melts” has faulty agreement. Aim to maintain consistent tense and parallel verb forms when describing each stage.

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