Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-17

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 chart illustrates the different stages hoe plastic bottles is recycle into numerous stages.

Overall, it is evident that this diagram consist nine stages and the inital stage, the man put the bottle in the dustbin and in the last stage with the help of other stages bottles redesign as well as producing many products.

Analysing the process chart into more detail, in the first stage the individual throw the bottle in dustbin after that truck collect this waste and recycling centre sorting the things two different boxes.Furthermore,it compress into massive blocks and with the assist of crusher it crushes after that washing and separate the crystals.

Moving towards the remaining information, in the sixth stage, the machine produces plastic pellets at the same time it give heating pellets to convert raw material. Apart from this, in the eight step with the help of raw material it easily produces variety of produuct such as, clothes, pencils, bags and palstic boxes and bottles.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main stages from putting bottles in a bin through collection, sorting, compression, crushing, washing and pellet production, and you identify that the process produces several end products. The overview also recognises the nine-stage sequence and its recycling purpose. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: “separate the crystals” is not shown, and the account does not clearly explain that pellets are heated to form raw material before end products are made. The final stage is described as occurring “in the eight step,” although the diagram places product manufacture after the raw-material stage. To strengthen the response, give a more precise overview of the closed loop and clarify the transformation from washed plastic to pellets, raw material and new products.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable overall structure: an introduction and overview are followed by two paragraphs describing the stages. Its progression from the initial collection stages to later processing is generally easy to follow, and phrases such as “Overall,” “Furthermore,” and “Moving towards the remaining information” help signal movement through the process. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent overall arrangement and shows some of the clearer progression associated with a stronger performance. However, several links are mechanical or unclear, and the long sequence in the third paragraph joins multiple stages without enough sentence boundaries. Use more precise transitions such as “Next” and “After washing,” and separate each major phase into clear sentences so the sequence is easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some task-relevant vocabulary, including “recycling centre,” “compress,” “crusher,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw material,” so the process can be followed. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, sometimes making the meaning difficult to interpret. For example, “the different stages hoe plastic bottles is recycle into numerous stages” is unclear, while “separate the crystals” does not accurately describe the washing stage. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “inital,” “produuct,” and “palstic.” Build a more precise process vocabulary and check spelling and collocations; for instance, describe bottles as being “sorted,” “crushed,” and “washed,” rather than relying on vague wording such as “things.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, including a sequence linked with “after that” and a contrastive opening with “Apart from this.” However, control is inconsistent, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the message difficult to read. Examples include “plastic bottles is recycle,” “the diagram consist nine stages,” and “the individual throw the bottle”; these need forms such as “bottles are recycled,” “the diagram consists of nine stages,” and “the individual throws a bottle.” Some sentences also run together, as in “Furthermore,it compress into massive blocks…” Add appropriate punctuation and use passive structures where suitable for describing a process. More accurate control of these patterns would make your ideas clearer.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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