Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-22

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 daigram illustates the recyclig process using plastic bottles. There are step by step process cycle for recycling bottles.

Overall, colecting empty plastic bottles in every house and convert into the raw material for produing new differents products.

Firstly, housholds collecting the empty water bottles,cold-drink bottles sapretly through waste. when gabage truck arrives,they have different compartment for the plastic waste, they collect it. After that, in a recycling center the workes sorted out the bottles through the waste. moreover, all the bottles compressing into the blocks. when crush machine cropes the bottles and washes particals.

The sixth step is producing plastic pellets in the machine and the raw matrial coming out. Giving a heat to that raw material. Collecting all raw mateial and combine it and place into the well manner. Finally, the last stage of these process producing so many proucts like clothes, new bottles, bags, box and pens using raw materials.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion6.0
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main stages from household disposal through collection, sorting, processing and the production of new goods, and your final examples broadly match the diagram. The overview also recognises that the process turns used bottles into material for further products. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate: the diagram shows bottles being sorted into accepted and rejected groups, not separated by bottle type, and it does not specify that collection happens in every house or that the truck has separate compartments. The sequence around pellet heating and raw material is also difficult to follow. To strengthen the report, describe the sorting decision accurately and explain the full cycle clearly, including that end products can re-enter the recycling process.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the process in a broadly logical order, using markers such as “Firstly,” “After that,” “The sixth step” and “Finally.” This gives the reader a recognisable progression from collection to end products. The opening overview and the later stage-by-stage account also provide some overall organisation. However, the paragraphing is limited, and several transitions do not make the relationships between stages clear. For example, “The sixth step is producing plastic pellets in the machine and the raw matrial coming out” is followed by “Giving a heat to that raw material,” leaving the sequence and connection between these actions uncertain. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and process details, and connect each stage with precise references such as “the washed fragments are then made into pellets.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “compressing,” “blocks,” “plastic pellets,” “raw material” and “recycling center,” which helps communicate the topic. You also attempt to describe the final products with examples. However, the range is limited and several spelling errors make the writing less clear, including “daigram,” “recyclig,” “colecting” and “matrial.” Some word choices or combinations are imprecise: “crush machine cropes the bottles” does not clearly describe crushing, while “place into the well manner” is not a natural way to describe the material being stored or prepared. Build a more accurate set of process verbs and check spelling carefully; this will make the account clearer and more appropriate for an academic process description.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple sentences and longer clauses, and the reader can generally identify the intended stages. However, errors in verb forms, sentence construction, articles and punctuation occur in several places. For example, “There are step by step process cycle” has faulty agreement and article use, while “Overall, colecting empty plastic bottles in every house and convert into the raw material” is a sentence fragment with no clear subject or main verb. In “when gabage truck arrives,they have different compartment,” the clause structure and punctuation are also unclear. Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and use consistent passive forms for process stages, such as “the bottles are sorted, compressed and crushed.”

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