Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-08-22

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

 

The diagram below shows how a biofuel called ethanol is produced.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 5.5)

The diagram illustrates the formation of biofuel called ethanol.

Overall, the energy in the shape of sunlight and carbon dioxide emits to the plants and trees and after being processed into six further stages it becomes ethanol and this ethanol used in vehicles fuel and converted into carbon dioxide and this process repeats.

When energy is transferred to plants and later, these plants get harvested for preprocessing to extract cellulose which later passes from the processing step to become sugar and when this sugar is added with microbes, it becomes ethanol. Ethanol is used to make fuel for vehicles including cars, airplanes, and trucks. These vehicles emit carbon dioxide which is added to the atmosphere and this process continues.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of the task. While you have identified the main stages of the ethanol production process, the description is quite brief and lacks the necessary detail to fully explain the cycle. For instance, the transition from 'preprocessing' to 'cellulose' and the specific role of 'microbes' are mentioned but not elaborated upon. To improve, you should aim to describe the process more thoroughly, ensuring that all steps shown in the diagram are clearly explained and compared where appropriate. The under-length nature of the response prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is organized into an introduction, an overview, and a body paragraph, which provides a basic structure. However, the progression of ideas is somewhat mechanical. You rely heavily on 'and' to connect clauses, such as in the second paragraph where multiple steps are strung together in a single long sentence. Using a wider variety of cohesive devices, such as 'subsequently,' 'following this,' or 'as a result,' would help the flow of the text. Additionally, the overview is a bit repetitive, restating the process rather than highlighting the key features of the cycle.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You use terms like 'formation,' 'processed,' and 'harvested,' which are relevant, but the range is limited. There is some awkward phrasing, such as 'energy in the shape of sunlight' and 'emits to the plants,' which does not sound natural in an academic context. To achieve a higher band score, try to incorporate more precise technical vocabulary related to industrial processes, such as 'conversion,' 'fermentation,' or 'by-products,' and focus on more accurate collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response consists mostly of simple and compound sentences. There is a lack of complex grammatical structures, such as passive voice constructions, which are essential for describing a process (e.g., 'the cellulose is extracted' instead of 'these plants get harvested'). There are also some grammatical inaccuracies, such as 'this ethanol used in vehicles fuel,' which is missing a verb, and 'carbon dioxide emits to the plants,' which uses the wrong verb form. Increasing the variety of sentence structures and ensuring subject-verb agreement will significantly improve your score.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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