Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-02

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 given diagram illustrates the process of plastic bottle recycling .

the process is based on 9 main steps starting from picking up bottles from waste and then transporting , sorting, compressing, crushing, washing , production of plastic pellets , heating , converting to raw materials and at the end formation of different products from it..

the process starts with the collection of a plastic bottles from garbage ..and then it's transported and taken to recycling centre for the process of sorting..in sorting process the usable bottles got separated from others and these bottle are compressed into blocks ..

futher these bottles are crushed and washed out properly then plastic pallets are produced from it..

these pellets are then heated to form raw materials and afterll that the raw material is ready to be moulded to form different products like shirts, bags, pencils, bottles, lunchboxes etc..

This is the best way to utilise the plastic bottles

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence from collection through sorting, compression, crushing, washing, pellet production and heating, and you identify several end products. This gives the reader a generally accurate account of the process. However, the overview is mainly a list of stages rather than a clear summary of the diagram’s key features, especially that it is a closed loop in which new products can return to the recycling bin. Some details are also unclear: “picking up bottles from waste” does not distinguish the person placing bottles in a bin from the truck collecting them, and “usable bottles” is less precise than explaining that sorting separates accepted bottles from rejected items. The final comment about this being “the best way” is an unsupported opinion; focus instead on the diagram’s information.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows the process in a sensible order, and the paragraph beginning “the process starts” develops the stages from collection to the finished products. Sequencing phrases such as “then,” “further” and “after” help show progression. However, the opening paragraph repeats much of the same sequence, and the final sentence shifts from describing the diagram to giving an opinion, weakening the overall focus. Some links are mechanical, while references such as “these bottles” and “it” are not always precise about which material is being discussed. Organise the response into a concise introduction and overview, followed by a clearly sequenced account of the stages, and use explicit references such as “the crushed plastic” or “the pellets” to make connections clearer.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “sorting,” “compressed,” “crushed,” “pellets” and “raw materials,” so the reader can follow the general transformation. There is some useful variation in describing the stages and the end products. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural: “picking up bottles from waste,” “washed out properly,” and “moulded to form” do not describe the diagram as clearly as standard process language would. “Plastic pallets” is also a spelling/word-choice error for “plastic pellets,” and “shirts” is less accurate than the diagram’s T-shirt. Improve precision by using collocations such as “collected for recycling,” “washed,” and “made into a range of products.” Check spelling and avoid repeating broad terms such as “process” when a specific stage name is available.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a sequence joined with “and then” and the clause “after that the raw material is ready…”. The main stages remain understandable, but some errors in articles, agreement and sentence construction reduce accuracy. For example, “a plastic bottles” mismatches the article and plural noun, while “these bottle are compressed” has incorrect number agreement. “The usable bottles got separated” uses an awkward tense for a process description, and the opening contains a long, loosely connected list rather than a controlled sentence. Punctuation and capitalisation are also inconsistent, with repeated full stops and lowercase sentence openings. Practise present simple passive forms—such as “the bottles are sorted and compressed”—and proofread articles, plurals and sentence boundaries.

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