Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-10-31

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 process daigram illustrates the how plastic plastic bottels are recycled in 9 steps.

Overall, the process of recycled bottels start from the households, whereas people throug the plactic in dust bins and at the end produced different items, such as T-shirt, pens and water bottels

Firstly, people collect the plastic in dust bins after that those plastic stored in truck and reached the recycling centre, which name is sorting. In storing, there people are select the plastics in 2 boxes, whereas, one box for store crusial plastics and other unnecessary plastics. Furthermore, the plastic will be compressing into blocks and crushing those blocks in small particles then washing particle in clean waterand it is ready for producing plastic peellets.

For the producing plastic pellets it nedds the machine and giving heat for making raw material. From raw material the plasti is ready for producing different products, such as pen, bag water bottel and T-shirts.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main stages from household disposal through collection, sorting, processing and the production of new items, and your overview correctly identifies the household starting point and the range of end products. Details such as compressing, crushing, washing and making pellets are also relevant. However, some stages are unclear or inaccurately described: the sorting boxes are for accepted and rejected bottles, not “crucial” and “unnecessary” plastics, and the account of heating pellets and forming raw material is difficult to follow. The diagram also shows the finished products returning to the recycling-bin stage, a key feature of the closed loop that your overview does not mention. Clarifying these points and describing the cycle more fully would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and a chronological account of the stages. Sequencing expressions such as “Firstly,” “after that” and “Furthermore” help the reader follow the process. However, some links are mechanical or awkward, and several sentences combine too many stages, making the progression less clear. For example, the sentence beginning “Furthermore, the plastic will be compressing” moves through compressing, crushing, washing and pellet production without clear sentence boundaries. The reference “In storing” is also unclear, and the final paragraph repeats the production idea rather than clearly connecting raw material to the end products and the loop back to collection. Use clearer stage-by-stage sentences and more precise referencing.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “recycling centre,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “washing,” “pellets” and “raw material,” which helps communicate the sequence. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation and spelling errors make parts difficult to understand. “Dust bins” is not the right term for the recycling bins shown, while “stored in truck” and “the plastic will be compressing” do not express the intended actions naturally. There are also repeated misspellings, including “bottels,” “plactic” and “peellets.” Aim to use accurate process verbs and check spelling carefully; this will make your description more precise and easier to read.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentences, including clauses linked with “whereas” and “after that,” and the overall sequence can generally be understood. However, errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence construction are noticeable. For example, “the process … start” needs subject–verb agreement, and “the plastic will be compressing” uses an unsuitable verb form for describing a process. In “people are select the plastics,” the verb pattern is incorrect, while “For the producing plastic pellets it nedds the machine” lacks a clear grammatical structure. Some sentences also run several actions together without effective punctuation. Practise accurate present-simple passive forms, such as “the bottles are compressed,” and separate each stage into a complete sentence.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.