Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The illustration demonstrates the process for recycling plastic bottle.

Overall, it is a 9 stage, man-made, machine and linear process. It begins with the man to waste the plastic bottle and then carry to the sorting, to compressing and crushing, to form raw material, and produced useful products.

A man hang a plastic bag to threw the plastic bottle in the public dustbin. Town garbage truck carrying the garbage and then transported to the recycling centre. In the recycling centre a worker can sorting the good bottles, and wasting the bad bottles, and compressing into blocks, after that , this blocks are passing through the two blades and than moving into the washing tank after crushing. Furthermore, this clean substance can put into the machine to producing plastic pellets, after leaving the machine this pellets are heating to from raw material, this raw material have packing into the bags. In conclusion, we can produced useful materials with the help of raw material including pensiles, plastic bags, shirts, lunch box and bottles.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages from disposal and collection through sorting, processing and making new products, and your overview identifies the process as beginning with bottles and ending in useful items. Several details are grounded in the diagram, including sorting acceptable bottles, compressing and crushing them, washing, pellet production and heating. The overview, however, calls the process “linear,” although the diagram shows a closed loop, with end products leading back to the recycling bin. Some stages are also compressed or unclear: the raw material is not described as being packed into bags, and the final products are examples rather than simply “useful materials.” To strengthen the response, make the circular nature explicit and report the stages and outputs more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and a paragraph describing the stages, followed by a concluding statement. The sequence is generally understandable, and transitions such as “after that” and “Furthermore” help show progression. However, the final “In conclusion” repeats the outcome rather than adding a useful summary, and several stages are crowded into long sentences joined by “and,” “then” and “after.” This makes the progression feel mechanical and occasionally obscures which action follows another. Paragraphing the process into collection/sorting and subsequent treatment, and using clearer references such as “the washed plastic” or “these pellets,” would improve flow and cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling centre,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “washing tank,” “plastic pellets” and “raw material,” which allows the reader to follow the topic. There is some variety in how you describe the stages, but word choice and collocation are often inaccurate or imprecise. For example, “public dustbin” and “Town garbage truck” do not describe the recycling bin and collection truck naturally, while “wasting the bad bottles” is unclear. Spelling errors such as “pensiles” and “lunch box” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise process language and check word forms and spelling; this would make the description more fluent and easier to interpret.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a sequence of actions linked with “after that” and “Furthermore.” However, complex sentences are often faulty, and errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction sometimes make the process difficult to follow. Examples include “A man hang,” “a worker can sorting,” “this blocks are passing,” and “this raw material have packing.” The overview also shifts awkwardly between forms in “to form raw material, and produced useful products.” Practise using consistent present simple passive forms for process descriptions, such as “the bottles are sorted” and “the pellets are heated,” and separate long action sequences into complete sentences with accurate punctuation.

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