Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 16 · 2026-11-04

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 5.0)

The diagram illustrates nine stages of turning plastic bottles into a new recycled product. The first two phases are the deposition of the bottles in the plastic bins and the collection by truck headed towards the reciclying center. There they get sorted, pressed into bricks and crushed into pieces, after that the pieces get washed and turned into small pellets. The pellets are then fused to form raw material used for the production of new goods.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the process as recycling plastic bottles and report several central stages in the correct order, from collection and sorting through crushing, washing, pellet production and the creation of raw material. However, the response addresses the task only minimally: it is substantially below the required 150 words and omits important details, including the sorting of unsuitable bottles, the heating of pellets, the production of end products, and the arrows showing that the process forms a loop. The opening mentions nine stages, but the stages are not fully described. Expand the account to cover the complete cycle and include a clear overview of its beginning, transformation stages and return to new products.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The stages you include are presented in a generally understandable sequence, and linking expressions such as “There,” “after that” and “then” help the reader follow the process. The response also moves from collection to the production of raw material without an abrupt change of topic. However, the account is compressed into one paragraph, and the sequence is not developed into a clear, complete progression: the final step of making new goods is only briefly mentioned, with no explanation that these products can re-enter the cycle. Some links, particularly “after that,” connect several operations in a single sentence, making the process harder to scan. Use separate paragraphs for an overview and the detailed stages, and connect each stage explicitly.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “sorted,” “crushed,” “washed,” “pellets” and “raw material,” which makes the main transformations understandable. There is also some variation in how the stages are described, such as “turned into” and “fused to form.” However, the range is limited for a process description, and some choices are imprecise or awkward: “deposition” is not a natural term for putting bottles in a bin, “bricks” is less accurate than blocks, and “fused” does not clearly describe heating pellets to form raw material. “Reciclying” is also misspelled. Use precise process terms such as “discarded,” “compressed into blocks” and “heated,” and check spelling carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response contains several clear sentence forms, including the opening sentence and the sequence “The pellets are then fused to form raw material.” Passive constructions such as “get sorted” and “get washed” are appropriate for describing a process, and the overall meaning remains understandable. However, most of the account is packed into one long sentence joined by commas, as in “There they get sorted, pressed into bricks and crushed into pieces, after that…” This creates a punctuation problem and makes the relationships between stages less clear. The range of sentence structures is also limited. Break the sequence into shorter sentences, use a wider mix of passive forms, and punctuate transitions between stages with full stops or suitable linking clauses.

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