Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-25

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 given diagram illustrates about the process for recycling the plastic bottles.

Overall, there are nine stages for the recycling the plastic bottle and it starts from the garbge and it complete by producing end products and the main feature of the recycling is to from raw materail to producing end products.

Meanwhile, the process starts with the garbage and than it transfer to truckthat garbage and further, it moves forward to recycling centre sorting out the plastic bottles from the garbage and than in forth stage it compressing into the blocks and forward that bottles into crusher for crushing.

whereas, the crushing happen than the washing particles send to producing plastic pellets and after that happen than the machine heats to from the heating pellets to raw material, while the raw material are from than from that worker can easily make the producing end products so that process happen than from the end products are again use people use to throw in the garbage.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the process as a cycle and include several central stages, including sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, pellet production, heating and making end products. The overview also recognises that the process returns to its beginning. However, some details are inaccurate or unclear: the process begins when bottles are put in a recycling bin, not with “the garbage,” and the sorting stage separates suitable bottles from unsuitable items. The description of the final stages does not clearly explain that raw material is used to manufacture a range of products, such as bottles, containers and clothing. The main features are therefore covered only partially, and some are underdeveloped. A more precise overview and clearer reporting of the input and outputs would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has an introduction, an overview and two body sections, and it generally follows the stages in sequence. This gives the reader some sense of the process. However, progression becomes difficult to follow, especially in the final paragraph, where several stages are joined in one long sentence: “whereas, the crushing happen than the washing particles send…” The repeated use of “than,” “and,” and “after that” does not reliably show how the steps relate, and some references, such as “that process,” are unclear. Use shorter sentences and organise the stages into clear groups—for example, collection and sorting, then processing and reuse. Choose a small range of accurate linking expressions rather than repeating the same ones.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling centre,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “washing,” “plastic pellets” and “raw material.” These terms show awareness of the topic, but the overall range is limited and several word choices or forms make the meaning unclear. “Garbage” is not an accurate description of the first stage, which shows bottles being placed in a recycling bin, while “washing particles” does not clearly identify the plastic being washed. There are also spelling errors such as “garbge” and “materail,” and awkward phrases such as “the main feature … is to from raw materail.” Build a more precise process vocabulary and check spelling and collocations before finishing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple and longer sentence forms, and the response communicates the broad idea of a recycling cycle. However, complex sentences are often faulty, and frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction make several stages hard to understand. For example, “it transfer to truckthat garbage” lacks a clear grammatical structure, while “the crushing happen than the washing particles send” has incorrect verb forms and an incomplete clause. In “there are nine stages for the recycling the plastic bottle,” the article and preposition pattern is also inaccurate. Practise writing one complete sentence for each group of stages, checking that every clause has a subject and correctly formed verb. Then add linking clauses only when the basic sentence is accurate.

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