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 recycling process of plastic bottles.

Overall, there are a total of 9 steps to recycle bottles into finished products.

Initally plastic bottles are placed in the bins by the people. Later the garbage trucks pick up these bins to collect the trash which is later carried to the recycling centre where the plastic bottles are sorted. By the help of compressing machines the bottles are compressed together in the form blocks. Which are later sent for crushing machines which make the plastic into small chunks that are washed later to remove dirt and extra things. Additionally, these chunks are later sent to pellets making maching which grinds them into plastic pellets. These pallets are later heated to form raw materials. These raw materials are sent to different departments into making multiple kinds of products such as: bottles, lunch boxes, shirts, pens, and bags. These products are used and thrown again in the bins for recycling. This is a continous process as plastic can be recycled again and again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response covers the main stages accurately, from bottles being deposited and collected through sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production, heating, and the creation of new products. The overview identifies the nine-step process and, importantly, notes that it is continuous. The examples of end products also match the diagram. This is a strong account of the task, with the main sequence clearly represented. To make the description more complete, clarify that sorting separates acceptable bottles from rejected items, and describe the final products as feeding back into the recycling process rather than saying they are “used and thrown” into bins, which adds a detail not shown. Some stages, such as the raw material stage, are reported briefly rather than fully explained.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the process in a logical order, and the opening overview helps orient the reader before the detailed sequence. Linking expressions such as “Later,” “Additionally,” and “These products” make the progression easy to follow overall. However, the account is presented as one long paragraph, so the overview and process details are not visually separated. Some links are mechanical or unclear: “Which are later sent” is a sentence fragment, while repeated uses of “later” make the sequence sound repetitive. Grouping the overview separately and using clearer stage-to-stage links, such as “After sorting” and “Once washed,” would make the organisation more controlled and the relationships between steps easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use a relevant range of process vocabulary, including “sorted,” “compressed,” “crushing,” “pellets,” and “raw materials,” and the examples of finished goods are specific. Meaning is generally clear, but several word choices and collocations are imprecise or repetitive. “Garbage trucks” and “trash” are less suitable for this recycling-process description than “collection truck” and “plastic bottles/material.” There are also spelling errors in “Initally,” “maching,” “pallets,” and “continous”; notably, “pallets” changes the meaning of “pellets.” Phrases such as “in the form blocks” and “different departments into making” are awkward. More accurate process collocations and careful proofreading would improve precision.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a relative clause in “which make the plastic into small chunks” and a time clause in “These products are used and thrown again.” Most of the process remains understandable, but some grammatical errors and punctuation problems are noticeable. “By the help of” is not a well-formed construction, and “in the form blocks” is missing a necessary grammatical element. “Which are later sent…” is a fragment, while the preceding sentence ends before its dependent clause. The long sequence of clauses joined with “which,” “that,” and “later” also makes sentence boundaries difficult to control. Use complete sentences and check articles, prepositions, and clause connections.

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