Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-30

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 diagram illustrates the step by step procedure for recycling the plastic bottles.

Overall, The process involves 9 steps, beginning with the collection of plastic bottles and ending with the production of different plastic products.

Initially, plastic bottles are collected in a bin followed by transporting the plastic bottles to the recycling centre by truck.After that, the bottles are sorted in the recycling centre into two groups catagorized by usable and non usable. Afterwards, The usable bottles are compressed to form blocks. Later, these blocks are crushed into small pieces by the cutters.Next, The small pieces are washed in a big jar before putting them into the milling machine for produing the plastic pellets.In addition, The pelletes are the heated to a certain temperature to form the raw material. At the end the raw materials are used to make different products such as bottles, bags,pens and clothes. And the cycle continues again and again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages in a clear sequence, and your overview identifies the nine-step process and its movement from bottle collection to new products. Most details match the diagram, including sorting into usable and unusable bottles, compressing, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating to create raw material. The examples of end products are also relevant, although “pens” is less precise than the diagram’s pencils. To make the account more complete, describe the recycling centre’s sorting decision and the return arrow more explicitly: the cycle continues because the new products can be recycled again. Some process details, such as the washing bath and the final raw material stage, are mentioned but could be expressed more precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a recognisable introduction, overview and chronological account, and the stages are generally easy to follow. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially,” “After that,” “Later” and “Next” help guide the reader through the process. This gives the report a coherent overall arrangement. However, the transitions become somewhat mechanical, with nearly every stage introduced by another time marker, and “In addition” does not clearly express the relationship between heating and pellet production. The final sentence beginning “And the cycle…” feels detached from the preceding description. Grouping related stages into paragraphs and using more varied links or clear references to the materials at each stage would make progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “sorted,” “compressed,” “crushed,” “pellets” and “raw material,” which helps communicate the stages. Some less common terms are attempted, but several word-choice, collocation and spelling problems reduce precision: “big jar” is an informal and inaccurate description of the washing bath, while “milling machine” is not the clearest name for the pellet-producing equipment. There are also misspellings such as “catagorized,” “produing” and “pelletes.” These do not prevent understanding, but careful proofreading and more exact technical wording would strengthen the report. Prefer concise, standard process language over vague descriptions such as “a certain temperature.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including the overview clause “beginning with … and ending with …” and the sequence “before putting them into the milling machine.” The meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. For example, “Overall, The process” incorrectly capitalises the word after the comma, and “the bottles are sorted … into two groups categorized by usable and non usable” has an awkward grammatical construction. In “the pellets are the heated,” the extra “the” disrupts the sentence. Several sentences also run together without a space after a full stop, as in “truck.After that.” More accurate sentence boundaries, articles and clause construction would improve control.

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