Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-18

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 5.0)

The diagram illustrates the process for recycling plastic bottles. Firstly the plastic bottles are collected to the destbin and all the plastic can be loaded into the truck and they can be throw into the recycling centre. All the plastic can be press with the help of machine and they compressing into blocks. The plastic can crushing into the machine and after, crushing they can washed into the water or chemicals. And they can producing plastic pellets into the machine. They can heating pellets to from raw material and they can be shaped to the clean raw material into the long blockes After all the working of plastics the factoris members can be made the products and they also made the shirts, pencials, shopping bags, and they can agian made the bottles. In the world all the plastic can recycling through the machines there are many big factoris that can made the plastic with the help of the old plastic bottles and any thing of plastic.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the topic and report several central stages, including collection, transport, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production, heating, and the creation of products such as shirts, pencils, bags, and bottles. However, the account is only partial: it omits the sorting stage and does not clearly explain that unsuitable bottles are rejected, while the return arrow completing the recycling loop is also not described. Some details are unclear or unsupported, such as saying the bottles are washed with “water or chemicals.” The final generalisation about factories recycling “any thing of plastic” does not add accurate process information. A clearer overview of the sequence and its circular nature, with the stages reported precisely, would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The response follows a broadly chronological order, so the reader can recognise a movement from collection towards manufacturing. “Firstly” and “after” provide some basic sequencing. However, the ideas are presented as one continuous paragraph, and links are often repetitive or unclear: “And they can…” recurs several times, while “after, crushing they can washed” makes the relationship between stages difficult to follow. The account also jumps from raw material to factory-made products without clearly marking the final stages or the loop back to bottle collection. Grouping the process into a beginning, treatment stages, and final production, and using precise sequence markers such as “next,” “subsequently,” and “finally,” would improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling centre,” “compressing into blocks,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw material,” and you name several end products. This gives the response a basic range suited to the diagram. However, vocabulary is repetitive and several word choices or forms make the meaning less clear, such as “destbin,” “the factoris members,” and “the clean raw material into the long blockes.” “Made” is also repeated where more precise process verbs would help distinguish manufacturing stages. Spelling errors such as “pencials” and “agian” are noticeable. Build a more accurate set of process verbs—such as sort, crush, wash, heat, and manufacture—and check spelling and collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to describe a sequence using simple clauses and some joined sentences, but grammatical control is limited. Errors occur frequently in verb forms and sentence construction, for example “they can be throw,” “they can be press,” “they can crushing,” and “they can heating.” These forms make it harder to understand whether the stages are actions or possibilities. Agreement and article use are also inconsistent, as in “the plastic can be loaded” followed by “they can be throw into the recycling centre.” Punctuation is sparse, and several ideas run together. Practise consistent present-simple passive forms for process descriptions, such as “the bottles are collected” and “the plastic is washed,” and separate each stage into a complete sentence.

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