Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The image illustrates the making of products by recycling plastic bottles.

Overall, the process consists nine steps. It starts by dropping waste bottles in garbage bin, and ends with the re-made products from plastic. The process includes heavy machines, human help for separating the garbage, and needed raw material to make products.

At the beginning, bottles thrown by the people in bins, And dumping truck will take all the garbage directly to the Recycling centre for further process. Where all types of waste will be separated by manually (with the help of humans). Afterall, blocks will be made out of them, and it goes through crushing machine for turning them into small particles, with washing them at the end.

Furthermore, a machine which produces plastic pellets from those wastes, takes the place to convert them into heating pellets, to make raw material. Eventually, different types of products are made from wasted bottles. However, this process will repeat again and again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You give a relevant account of the process and identify its overall circular nature, from bottles being discarded to new products being made and recycled again. The main stages—collection, sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and conversion into raw material—are mostly represented. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the sorting stage is described as separating “all types of waste,” whereas the diagram shows bottles sorted into accepted and rejected groups. The overview also says there are nine steps, but the sequence is not consistently distinguished from the later stages. The final products are left general rather than illustrated with examples. A more precise overview and clearer reporting of the sorting decision and product examples would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall arrangement: an introduction and overview are followed by the early and later stages, with a final reference to the cycle repeating. Sequencing expressions such as “At the beginning,” “Furthermore,” and “Eventually” help the reader follow the process, and paragraphing is appropriate. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent organisation and shows some stronger progression. However, a few links are awkward or unclear, particularly “a machine which produces plastic pellets from those wastes, takes the place to convert them,” where the relationship between pellet production and heating is difficult to follow. “Afterall” and “However” also do not express the intended connections precisely. Use direct stage-to-stage links and clearer references to improve the flow further.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a range of process-related vocabulary, including “separated,” “crushing machine,” “particles,” “pellets,” and “raw material,” which allows the main sequence to be understood. There are also attempts at more specific wording, such as “re-made products.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for this diagram: “garbage” is repeated where “plastic bottles” or “waste plastic” would be clearer, and “heating pellets” suggests the pellets themselves are the final material rather than being heated to form it. Phrases such as “takes the place to convert them” and “with washing them” are also awkward collocations. Aim for accurate process verbs and natural combinations, rather than using general terms like “waste” for each stage.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the sequence is generally understandable. However, grammatical control is uneven, especially in clauses describing the stages. For example, “the process consists nine steps” needs a preposition, while “At the beginning, bottles thrown by the people in bins” lacks a finite verb. The sentence beginning “Where all types of waste…” is a fragment, and “blocks will be made out of them, and it goes through” shifts awkwardly between plural and singular subjects. Capitalisation after “And” and the comma before it also disrupt sentence boundaries. Practise complete clauses with consistent subjects and verb forms, and check articles and agreement when describing each stage.

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