Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-15

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 diagram shows the process for recycling plastic bottles.

Overall, the are total 9 process system for recycling bottles from throwing in a bin to healing pellets to form raw materials. And this process continue ike a loop.

Firstly, people throw their bottles in bin after drinking their drinks. After that a tracktor collect all of those waste materials and short those waste products into two different categories in recyclying centre. In the fourth stage,through this process those are compressed into blocks and put those into machine to crushing the materials to wash in water. Continuing this process, after washing crushes it is being produced in plastic pellets and in the seventh number of processing, pellets is being heated to form raw materials. Then those raw materials are ebing organized in two colunms and produce into two types of products one is bottles and boxes and other one is bags, clothes and pencils. Through this 9 stages, this recycling plastic bottles process are being continued each time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the diagram as a recycling process and give a broad overview of its loop, from putting bottles in a bin to producing new goods. Several key stages are included, such as collection, sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the sorting stage separates acceptable bottles from rejected items, rather than simply creating “two different categories” of waste, and the final products are not grouped into two types as described. The overview also says “healing pellets,” which obscures the important heating stage. To make the report more complete and precise, describe the sequence clearly and distinguish the raw material stage from the production of end products.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows the process in roughly the correct order, and sequencing phrases such as “Firstly,” “After that,” and “Then” help the reader track the stages. The opening and overview also provide a basic frame for the description. However, most of the report is presented as one long paragraph, and several transitions are awkward or unclear, particularly “Continuing this process, after washing crushes it is being produced in plastic pellets.” The repeated references to “this process” and “those” do not always make clear which material or stage is meant. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and the detailed sequence, and connect each stage with concise, accurate references to the bottles, crushed plastic, pellets and raw material.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “compressed,” “crushing,” “pellets,” “raw materials” and “products,” which helps convey the general subject. However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors make parts difficult to understand: “tracktor,” “short,” “recyclying,” “ebing” and “colunms.” Some expressions are also imprecise or unnatural, such as “healing pellets,” “after drinking their drinks” and “organized in two columns.” Choose standard terms for the stages and materials, and check spelling carefully. More precise vocabulary such as “collection truck,” “sort,” “washed plastic” and “manufactured into” would make the description clearer and more appropriate to an academic process report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentences, and the sequence is generally understandable despite frequent grammatical problems. Errors include subject–verb agreement in “the process are being continued,” an incorrect construction in “the are total 9 process system,” and faulty passive forms such as “it is being produced in plastic pellets.” Articles and plurals are also inconsistent, as in “in bin” and “raw materials.” Several long sentences combine stages without clear grammatical control, making relationships between actions difficult to follow. Practise forming accurate present-simple process descriptions, for example, “The bottles are sorted, compressed and crushed,” and check agreement, articles and sentence boundaries before submitting.

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