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 given diagram illustrate that how the plastic bottles recycle from garbage to useful products.

As we can see that a person threw the plactic bottle into dustbin after use it. Then a container bring that garbge and give plastic bottles to the recycling center. Now we can see that the plastic bottles are soting in a box. Moreover, it compressed under the compresser into a square shape. After this procedure material are put in the crusher and then it washed under a clean water.

However, it is crystal lucid, that the small pieces of plactic are go through from a machine. it produce plastic pallets and after that we can observe that plastic pallets are heating to make raw material. It gives us a smooth raw material for recycling it. As it is clear that the raw material is used to make tiffins, t-shirts, plastic bags, and pencils for further use.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main sequence from disposal and collection through sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating into raw material, then identify several end products. This gives the reader a generally relevant account of the process. However, the overview is not clearly stated, and some details are incomplete or inaccurate: the diagram shows sorting into accepted and rejected items, and the final products include food containers, which you call “tiffins.” Most importantly, you do not mention that the process loops back from end products to the recycling bin. The description of the later stages is also less precise than the early sequence. A concise overview highlighting the cycle and its main transformations would make the response more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The stages are presented in a broadly logical order, and sequencing expressions such as “Then,” “After this procedure,” and “after that” help the reader follow the process. The paragraph break also separates the later processing stages from the initial collection stages. However, the progression is not fully clear because the response lacks a distinct overview and does not explain the final arrow returning to the beginning. Some linking is mechanical or imprecise: “However” does not express a contrast between the stages, while “Moreover” adds little to the sequence. The reference in “It gives us a smooth raw material” is also unclear. Grouping the stages more deliberately and using straightforward sequence links would improve cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling center,” “crusher,” “raw material,” and “products,” so the topic is generally understandable. There are also attempts at more descriptive language, such as “square shape.” However, the range is limited and several noticeable spelling or word-choice errors reduce precision: “plactic,” “garbge,” “soting,” and “pallets” (for pellets). “Crystal lucid” is unnatural in this context, and “container” is not the clearest term for the collection truck. Some phrases, such as “smooth raw material,” do not accurately describe the diagram. Focus on accurate process terms and natural collocations rather than decorative wording; this will make the account clearer and more appropriate for an academic report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses a mixture of simple statements and some longer structures, and the sequence is usually understandable. However, errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction. For example, “The given diagram illustrate” needs subject–verb agreement, while “a person threw” and “a container bring” use inconsistent or incorrect tense forms for describing a process. In “the plastic bottles are soting in a box,” the passive construction is faulty, and “it washed” is missing the auxiliary verb. The sentence beginning “it is crystal lucid, that” also has incorrect punctuation and clause structure. Use the present simple consistently for process descriptions, and practise accurate passive forms such as “the bottles are sorted” and “the material is washed.”

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