Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-29

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 given process illustrates how the plastic bottles are recycled.

Firstly, the pllastic bottles are collected from dustbins and then, transported to the recycling centers through a truck. In the recycling center bottles are sortted according to their quality during this process the bad quality bottles are discarded, whereas bottles are of good quality are kept for further which involves their commpression into blocks.

In the following stage, the commpresed blocks are crushed in a machine in order to produce tiny plastic pellets which are washed in a container with water. Once the pellets are washed properly, they are put into a heating machine so that raw material can be produced. Raw material is then used to make plastic products such as bottles, containers, pencils and bags. Consumers use those products and put in the dustbin from where this process starts again and continues.

Overall, this process is very simple and straight forward including total nine stages which starts from the collection of waste plastic and culminates at the production of plastic products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence from collection and sorting through processing to the production of new goods, and your overview identifies the nine-stage cycle and its return to the start. The examples of end products—“bottles, containers, pencils and bags”—are supported by the diagram. Some details, however, are less fully or precisely reported: the diagram shows bottles being placed in a recycling bin, rather than collected from dustbins generally, and it shows washing after crushing but before pellet production. Your account says the crushed plastic is made into pellets “which are washed,” which blurs that order. Also, “according to their quality” is a reasonable interpretation of the sorting, but the diagram only distinguishes accepted and rejected bottles. Report each stage in sequence and keep descriptions close to the visual evidence.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response is arranged in a clear progression, with “Firstly,” “In the following stage,” and “Once” guiding the reader through the process. The paragraphing also separates the detailed stages from the overall summary, and the final sentence effectively returns to the cycle’s starting point. This gives the account a coherent overall structure. To make the progression more consistently smooth, use transitions that distinguish the individual stages rather than grouping several operations into long sentences. For example, the sentence beginning “In the following stage” combines crushing, pellet production and washing, and its wording makes their order unclear. A more precise sequence of short linked steps would strengthen cohesion and make the process easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling center,” “compressed blocks,” “pellets,” “raw material,” and “culminates,” so the reader can understand the topic and most stages. There is some useful variation in how you describe the process, but spelling and word-choice errors are noticeable: “pllastic,” “sortted,” and “commpression” detract from accuracy. Some expressions are also imprecise or awkward, such as “bad quality bottles” and “kept for further,” while “dustbins” is less exact than the diagram’s recycling bin. Aim for accurate spelling and more natural process collocations, and choose terms that describe the diagram without adding unsupported distinctions. This would make your vocabulary more precise and controlled.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentences, including clauses with “whereas,” “which,” and “so that.” Most of the process remains understandable, but some grammatical errors affect clarity. In “bottles are sortted according to their quality during this process the bad quality bottles are discarded,” two clauses run together without suitable punctuation. “Bottles are of good quality are kept” has an incorrect clause structure, and “from where this process starts again” uses an unclear relative construction. There are also issues with articles and sentence punctuation, such as the comma after “then” in “then, transported.” Separate stages with full stops or semicolons, and check clause structure and agreement when combining ideas.

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