Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-27

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 diagrams illustrates the complete process of plastic receycling and how we use it to make different things.

Overall, Companies collect the plastic we discharge in the garbage drum. They seprate it in different gatogeries and pass through different process. After processing a raw material prepared that use to make different products.

In our daily routine we dispose the garbage in dustbin that is collected by waste management vahicals that deliver all the plastics only to recycling centers. They seprate reuseable and decay items. The onward process is compressing resusable plastic into blocks. These blocks pass through the crushing machine which conver it into small peices. Right benith the crusing machine there is water tank where pices are washed . These small pieces send to machine that convert it into pellets and it become same and these pellets melted by heating and packed in bags. These bags purchased by pencils, bags, cloths, bottle companies. Then they make these things from it.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages from disposal and collection through sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and the creation of new products. The overview also identifies the broad purpose of the process, and the final reference to products such as pencils, bags, clothing and bottles reflects the diagram. This meets the task well, with some features described less fully than others: the sorting stage’s separation of accepted and rejected bottles is only briefly mentioned, and the account does not clearly explain that the process loops back to bottle disposal. The description of the material being packed into bags is also not quite precise: the diagram shows raw material on a pallet, followed by manufacture of end products. A clearer overview of the closed loop and more exact stage descriptions would strengthen the response further.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable progression, moving from an overview to the stages in roughly the order shown. Phrases such as “Overall” and “The onward process” help signal the structure, and the reader can generally follow the sequence. However, the paragraphing is limited, and the long final paragraph strings many stages together without clear sentence boundaries or transitions. For example, “These small pieces send to machine that convert it into pellets and it become same” makes the relationship between washing, pellet production and heating difficult to follow. Some references, such as “it” and “these bags,” are also unclear. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and process, and connect each stage with precise sequencing language and clear references.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling centers,” “compressing,” “crushing machine,” “pellets,” and “raw material,” which helps communicate the topic. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems reduce precision. “Garbage drum” and “decay items” do not describe the bin and rejected materials naturally, while “these bags purchased by pencils, bags, cloths, bottle companies” is difficult to interpret. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “receycling,” “seprate,” “peices” and “crusing.” Aim for accurate process terms such as “recycling bin,” “non-recyclable items,” “plastic fragments” and “manufacturers,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, grammatical control is inconsistent, particularly with agreement, verb forms, articles and sentence construction. For example, “The diagrams illustrates” has a subject–verb agreement error, while “After processing a raw material prepared” lacks a clear grammatical structure. In “These small pieces send to machine that convert it into pellets,” the passive verb form and agreement are missing; later, “it become same” also has unclear agreement and construction. Several ideas are joined into long sentences, making punctuation and clause relationships difficult to manage. Practise accurate passive forms for describing processes, such as “the pieces are sent” and “the pellets are heated,” and build longer sentences from correctly formed clauses.

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