Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 information about the procedure of how to recycle plastic bottles.

Overall, there are nine steps which are used for recycling plastic bottles. All the steps are interlinked with each other, omission of any step may halt the whole process.

After analyzing, it can be clearly seen that in the first step, plastic bottles are thrown into recycle bins by people, in the second step, plastic bottles are collected by garbage truck. After that plastic bottles are sorted in recycling centre.While recyclable plastic proceeds to the next stage.

The diagram further collates that in the subsequent step, the selected bottels are subsequenty compressed into large blocks and then crushed into small plastic pieces, nextly these fragments are throughly washed to eliminate any remaining impurities, After cleaning, the plastic pieces are processed in a machine to form plastic pell

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the process as having nine stages and accurately describe the opening sequence: bottles are put in bins, collected, sorted, compressed, crushed and washed. However, the response stops partway through the pellet-making stage, so it omits the later steps of heating pellets into raw material, forming end products, and the loop back to the start. The overview that every step is interlinked is relevant, but the claim that omitting any step would halt the process is not shown by the diagram. The response also falls short of the required 150 words. To address the task more fully, complete the cycle and give a concise overview of its start, transformation stages and reuse.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and paragraphs describing the early stages. Sequencing expressions such as “in the first step,” “After that,” and “in the subsequent step” help the reader follow the process. However, progression is incomplete because the account ends during pellet production, leaving the later stages unexplained. Some linking is awkward or mechanically repeated, and the sentence beginning “After that plastic bottles are sorted” runs directly into “While recyclable plastic proceeds,” which is an incomplete and poorly connected clause. The final sentence also ends abruptly. Use clear paragraph breaks and complete each stage before moving on, with transitions that show the sequence without overloading the account.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a reasonable range of process vocabulary, including “sorted,” “compressed,” “crushed,” “fragments,” and “impurities,” which helps describe the stages. Some less common choices are attempted, but several are inaccurate or unnatural: “collates” does not mean that a diagram shows a stage, and “nextly” is not a natural sequencing adverb. There are also spelling errors in “bottels,” “subsequently,” “throughly,” and “pell,” and “garbage truck” is less precise than “collection truck” in this context. These slips make parts of the description less clear and polished. Prefer accurate, familiar process language and check spelling carefully, especially for key terms and the final word of the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview sentence and the sequence joined with “and then.” Meaning is generally understandable, but errors in sentence boundaries and clause structure are noticeable. For example, “After that plastic bottles are sorted in recycling centre.While recyclable plastic proceeds…” has faulty punctuation and leaves “While” introducing an incomplete sentence. The final sentence is also unfinished, ending with “to form plastic pell.” Articles and passive constructions need more consistent control: write “at a recycling centre” and “are collected by a collection truck.” Use full stops and commas to separate stages, and proofread each sentence to ensure it has a complete main clause.

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