Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-01

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)

Recycling of a plastics bottles are very important to protect our enviroment. First plastic bottles are thrown into dustbin. Heavy vehicles like truck collect wast and transfer it to the centre. In centre, workers sort these bottles and put in the correct place. These bottles are then compressed and shape it like block. The blocks are move to the crushing machine, where it crushes into a small pieces. Put the small pieces in a liquid for washing, which metigate durt. After cleaning of small pieces, put them in a machine to produce plastics pellets, which then heated to produce a raw material. These raw matetial use to produce end products like bottles, lunch boxes, shirts, pencils, bags, etc. After they products used, then they are again thrown to dustbin for the recycling.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main sequence from disposal and collection through sorting, processing, and making new products, and you correctly show that the process repeats when products are discarded. The examples of end products also match the diagram. However, the response is short of the required 150 words, and it omits some useful detail: for example, sorting separates acceptable bottles from rejected items, and the washed plastic is made into pellets before being heated into raw material. An overview identifying the process as a closed cycle would make the key feature clearer. To strengthen the response, include these stages and describe the sequence more fully rather than adding general comments about environmental importance.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages are presented in a generally sensible order, so the reader can follow the process from the bin to the production of new goods and back to disposal. Basic sequencing expressions such as “First,” “then,” and “After cleaning” help connect the steps. However, the response is one continuous paragraph, and the repeated use of “then” and “these” makes the progression feel mechanical. Some instructions are also presented as fragments, such as “Put the small pieces in a liquid for washing,” which interrupts the descriptive flow. Organise the response into an introduction and overview followed by a clearly sequenced process paragraph, and use varied links such as “subsequently” and “finally” where appropriate.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “compressed,” “crushing machine,” “pellets,” and “raw material,” and the examples of products help convey the final stage. However, the range is limited and several word choices or forms are inaccurate, including “dustbin” for a recycling bin, “wast,” “metigate durt,” and “raw matetial.” Some phrasing is also imprecise: “put in the correct place” does not clearly explain sorting, while “a liquid for washing” could be expressed more specifically as a washing bath. Use accurate process terms and check spelling carefully. More precise verbs such as “sort,” “shred,” and “manufacture” would make the description clearer and less repetitive.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response mainly uses simple present-tense statements, with a few attempts to link stages using clauses such as “where it crushes into a small pieces.” However, grammatical errors occur frequently and sometimes make relationships between actions unclear. Examples include “Recycling of a plastics bottles are,” “These bottles are then compressed and shape it,” and “These raw matetial use to produce end products,” which show problems with agreement, passive forms, and sentence construction. The fragment “Put the small pieces in a liquid for washing” also shifts into an instruction rather than describing the process. Practise consistent passive forms for process descriptions, for example, “The bottles are compressed” and “The pellets are heated,” and check singular/plural agreement.

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.