Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-21

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 shows a clear process of recycling of plastic bottles. The process shows 9 steps of recycling a plastic bottles. The first and foremost step starts from the way poeple through bottles in the garbage box after using it. After the first step the garbage trucks ususally alloted in every country. These trucks take the garbage, only recyclable garbage and then associated persons sort these plastic objects by analyzing wheather they can be recyled or not. Then these sorted bottles are compressed inyo blocks , several blocks of such compressed bottles are made for the next and most important step, crushing.

Crushing is started by washing the compresssed blocks. In this step the blocks gone through a machine that actually crush the blocks into fine pieces, really small pieces.then the major process of recycling starts, in this step fine pieces are passed from another machine where these fine pieces are transformed into plastic pellets. and in very next step these pellets are heated at a large temperature so that these pellets are ready to be a raw material. After heating these pellets they become raw material.

Then these raw materials are used to make different types of goods. After all these steps raw materials are processed in different industries and used to make goods. From thes recyled plastic bottles industrialists make a variety of goods such as clothing bags, pencils, shopping bags, plastic items like bottles and boxes. Then these all items are used in daily routeins. When these items are not functional people prefered to through them again in the garbage bags and then they are again recycled and go through the same process.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main sequence from disposal and collection through sorting, processing, and making new goods, and you correctly identify that the cycle repeats. Examples such as sorting bottles into recyclable and non-recyclable items and heating pellets to create raw material show relevant understanding. However, the account is only partly precise: it says the blocks are washed before crushing, whereas the diagram shows crushing followed by washing, and it adds details such as garbage trucks being allocated in every country and goods being processed in different industries, which are not shown. The overview is also implicit rather than clearly summarising the cycle’s key stages. A more accurate overview and closer attention to the order and labels would make the report more complete and clear.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the process in a broadly logical order and uses sequencing expressions such as “The first,” “Then,” and “After heating” to guide the reader. The final sentences also make the return to the beginning of the cycle clear. However, the writing is presented as one long paragraph, so the stages are not visually grouped into an introduction, overview, and process details. Some links are mechanical or repetitive, particularly the repeated use of “step” and “then,” and the transition from washing to crushing is confusing because the order is described inaccurately. Organise the report into clear paragraphs and use more varied, precise links between stages to improve progression and make relationships easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “compressed,” “crushing,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw material,” which helps communicate the stages. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, such as “garbage box,” “garbage trucks,” and “fine pieces” for the recycling bin, collection truck, and crushed plastic. Spelling errors are also noticeable, including “poeple,” “wheather,” “recyled,” and “routins,” and these reduce the clarity and control of the vocabulary. Aim for accurate terms from the diagram and check spelling carefully. More precise verbs such as “collect,” “sort,” “shred,” and “manufacture” would help describe the process efficiently.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including clauses linked with “so that” and “when,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors occur frequently in verb forms, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries. For example, “these blocks gone through a machine” needs a finite verb, while “the machine that actually crush the blocks” has a subject–verb agreement error. The opening also has an awkward plural construction in “9 steps of recycling a plastic bottles.” Several sentences run together, as in the description of the small pieces and the next machine. Practise forming accurate passive sentences for processes and punctuating each complete idea as a separate sentence.

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