Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-03

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 diagram illustrates the process of plastic bottles are recycled. Overall, collecting the plastic and then transport by vehicles such as trucks and any other form of transport. After that, two steps takes place sorting and compressing the plastice into blocks. Start the washing of crushed plastics and heating pellets and convert into raw materials and then producing any products. The first step in the process of recyclng of plastic bottles to collect the bottles from dustbins and second step for transfer all the bottles to trucks for transpot from one location to another. The third step, all the plastic bottles goes to recycling centre for sorting the bottles and after that they make into blocks by pressing all bottles with each other.

Crushing these bottles with and truns into smaller pieces and wash these pieces with water and then producing plastic pellets and main step is to heating pellets to form the raw materials . These raw materials convert into and produces end products.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages in the correct general order, from collection and transport through sorting, compressing, crushing, washing, pellet production, heating and making end products. The overview also identifies the process as a sequence that turns used bottles into new products, which gives the reader a useful overall picture. This meets the task well, though some details are less fully reported: for example, the diagram shows sorting into accepted and rejected bottles, and the final products include items beyond bottles, such as clothing and containers. The opening sentence is unclear about what the diagram illustrates, and the overview’s description of transport is awkward. More precise reporting of the sorting decision and the closed-loop return to collection would make the summary more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an overview is followed by descriptions of the early and later stages, and the process is generally presented in sequence. Linking expressions such as “After that,” “The first step,” and “then” help signal progression. However, the overview itself reads as a series of fragments, and the transition from the first paragraph to the detailed account is not always smooth. Some links are repetitive, particularly repeated uses of “and then,” while references such as “these bottles” and “these raw materials” could be clearer about the exact stage being described. Organise the overview into complete sentences and use a wider range of precise sequencing links to make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “sorting,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “plastic pellets,” and “raw materials,” which helps convey the stages. There is some repetition of general terms such as “step,” “bottles,” and “producing,” and several word choices or combinations are inaccurate or unclear: “transport by vehicles,” “make into blocks by pressing all bottles with each other,” and “producing any products.” Spelling errors, including “recyclng,” “plastice,” and “transpot,” also reduce accuracy. Aim for more precise process language and natural collocations, such as describing bottles being collected and transported, compressed into blocks, and converted into new products. This would make the account clearer and more flexible.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentences, and the overall sequence can usually be understood. However, sentence structures are often incomplete or faulty, as in “The diagram illustrates the process of plastic bottles are recycled” and “Overall, collecting the plastic and then transport by vehicles.” There are also problems with agreement and verb forms: “two steps takes place,” “all the plastic bottles goes,” and “main step is to heating.” Articles and sentence boundaries need attention as well, particularly where several stages are joined into one long sentence. Practise forming complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check agreement and verb patterns—for example, “the main step is heating” or “the pellets are heated.”

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