Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The diagram represents the process for recycling plastic bottles .it includes 9 stages.

Firstly, plastic bottels is collected in a dustbins. it is ttaken by truck from dustbin and transporting to recycle center. In recycle center, sorting of plastic bottles than compressing it into a blocks. Next, crushing compressed blocks than washing it, than it go for machine which convert it into plastic pellets.

After that, heating plastic pellets to convert in raw material of plastics. than raw material use producing different plastic products like bottels, pens, cloths and bags.

Overall, recycling plastic bottle process includes 9 stages. Beginning in collecting plastic waste and ending in producing different products by raw material.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the process as having nine stages and report its broad direction, from collecting bottles to making new products. Several central steps are also included, such as sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating. However, the account is only partial: it does not explain that unsuitable bottles are rejected during sorting, and the final products are described less precisely than in the diagram. The overview repeats the start and end points rather than summarising the full recycling cycle. The response is also below the required 150 words, which limits how fully you can report the stages. To improve, add the missing sorting detail and explain how the finished products feed back into the cycle.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a basic chronological structure, with “Firstly,” “Next,” and “After that” guiding the reader through the main stages. The paragraph breaks also separate the process description from the concluding overview. However, progression is not always smooth: the second paragraph compresses several stages into a chain of fragments, and repeated “than” does not clearly signal the relationships between them. The overview largely repeats information already given instead of drawing the process together. Use complete sentences and a wider range of accurate links, such as “Once the bottles have been sorted” and “The resulting material is then used to manufacture…”. This would make the sequence easier to follow without adding unnecessary repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “sorting,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “washing,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw material,” so the reader can understand the general stages. However, the range is limited and several choices or spellings are inaccurate, such as “dustbins” for the recycling bin, “recycle center,” and “bottels.” Some phrases are also imprecise, including “cloths” for the T-shirt shown and “pens” where the diagram depicts pencils. Aim for accurate process collocations and specific names for the items shown. For example, “is transported to a recycling centre” is more natural than “transporting to recycle center,” while “manufacture a range of products” gives a clearer description of the final stage.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response communicates the basic sequence, but grammatical control is weak and sentence structures are mostly simple or incomplete. Errors occur in verb forms and agreement, as in “plastic bottels is collected,” “it is ttaken,” and “than it go.” Several stages are expressed as fragments—“Next, crushing compressed blocks than washing it”—rather than as complete clauses. Articles and plurals are also inconsistent in “into a blocks,” and punctuation and capitalisation are unreliable, including the lowercase sentence openings after full stops. Practise forming complete passive sentences for process descriptions, such as “The bottles are sorted and then compressed into blocks.” More accurate sentence patterns would make the stages clearer.

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