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 illustration gives information about how plastic bottles recycle. Overall, there are 9 steps involving in this process.

It is quite evident from the diagram that first people gather waste bottles from the dustbins in the markets.Then they transport those bottle to the recycling centres. In recycling centres people seperate bottles in different boxes.After the sorting the next step is compressing. Now bottels are compressing in blocks.After this step we need 5 steps more for achieving our final product. These steps are given below.

These compressed bottels are now crushing through the machinery. Then another step is washing. Factory workers wash the crushed material. Then plastic pellets produce. These plastic pellets are heating. After heating raw material is obtain. Then in last step these raw material is using in different companies and factories where different things are making from this material. Factories produce different types of boxes, water bottels , pencils and also some shopping bags.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main stages from disposal and collection through sorting, processing and the production of new goods, and you identify that the process has nine steps. The examples of end products—“boxes, water bottles, pencils” and shopping bags—are relevant to the diagram. However, the overview is limited to the number of steps rather than highlighting the important feature that this is a closed recycling loop. Some details are inaccurate or unsupported: the diagram shows bottles placed in a recycling bin, not necessarily gathered from market dustbins, and it does not say factory workers wash the material. The account also does not clearly explain that unsuitable bottles are rejected during sorting. A more complete overview and closer attention to the diagram’s labels would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response follows the process in broadly the correct order, and paragraphing separates the opening from the stage-by-stage account. Sequencing expressions such as “After this step,” “Then” and “After heating” help the reader follow the stages. However, progression is sometimes mechanical, with repeated “Then” and “After” rather than varied links or clear grouping of stages. The sentence “After this step we need 5 steps more” interrupts the process description and does not add useful information. References such as “these compressed bottels” and “this material” are generally understandable, but the links between stages could be clearer. Organise the account into a concise overview and logically grouped stages, using transitions that show how each stage leads to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “sorting,” “compressing,” “crushing,” “washing,” “pellets” and “raw material,” so the reader can identify most stages. The range is nevertheless limited, and several word-choice or collocation problems make the description less natural: “how plastic bottles recycle,” “gather waste bottles from the dustbins,” and “different things are making from this material.” Spelling errors such as “seperate,” “bottels” and “bottels” are noticeable, while “boxes” is less precise than the diagram’s broader range of products. Aim for accurate process collocations and vary repeated general words such as “step” and “things.” Proofreading spelling and choosing precise terms for the products would make the account clearer.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You communicate the sequence using mostly simple sentences and make some attempts to link clauses, for example, “After this step we need 5 steps more for achieving our final product.” However, verb forms and sentence patterns are frequently inaccurate. Examples include “bottles recycle,” “bottels are compressing,” “plastic pellets produce,” and “raw material is obtain”; these need passive forms such as “are recycled,” “are compressed,” “are produced” and “is obtained.” There are also agreement and article problems in “these raw material is using.” The range of structures is narrow, and errors recur across the response, although the intended process is usually recoverable. Practise forming the passive consistently, since it is especially useful for describing a process, and check singular/plural agreement and sentence punctuation.

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