Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-04
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 demonstrates how a biofuel known as ethanol is produced.
It is entirely a cyclical process involving human and nature both.
Overall, production of ethanol consists of 8 main stages, each has its own importance. Ethanol obtained from the sugarcane by processing it through several processes. Ethanol used in vehicles and it also reduce the use of petrol and diesel. However, ethanol play crucial role in declining the pollution. Hence, it is massive combination of artificial and natural process.
In the starting, farmer grow the crop in their field which is very first step of process. Secondly, energy in the form of sunlight and carbon dioxide is required to get the crop ready. After all, when crop is fully grow, it get harvested by farmer and then send it for pre-processing to obtain cellulose from it.
Furthermore, cellulose transported into factories where the all processing done to get sugars. Meanwhile, microbes are added sugars to complete the formation of an Ethanol. Now this Ethanol used into vehicles and vehicles to release the carbon dioxide which provides energy to plants and trees
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main stages of the ethanol production process, but the overview is somewhat repetitive and includes extraneous information about the benefits of ethanol (e.g., reducing pollution) which is not shown in the diagram. The description of the process is generally accurate, but it lacks a clear, cohesive summary of the cyclical nature of the process as requested by the prompt. While the key stages are identified, the explanation of the transition from cellulose to sugar and the role of microbes is slightly underdeveloped. To improve, focus strictly on the visual data provided and avoid adding external knowledge or subjective commentary about environmental impact.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is organised into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow the sequence of events. However, the use of cohesive devices is often mechanical or inaccurate. For example, 'After all' is used incorrectly to mean 'finally' or 'subsequently', and 'Meanwhile' is used in a way that does not clearly link the addition of microbes to the previous step. The referencing is sometimes unclear, such as in the final sentence where 'vehicles and vehicles' is repetitive and confusing. Improving the variety and accuracy of linking words would significantly enhance the flow of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks precision and variety. There are several instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'massive combination of artificial and natural process' and 'when crop is fully grow'. The word choice is often simplistic, and there are errors in collocation, such as 'added sugars' instead of 'added to the sugars' or 'sugars are added'. To reach a higher band, you should aim to use more precise technical vocabulary related to industrial processes and ensure that word forms are used correctly in context.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede clarity. Common issues include subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'ethanol play crucial role', 'crop is fully grow'), missing articles (e.g., 'in the starting'), and awkward sentence construction (e.g., 'Ethanol used in vehicles and it also reduce the use of petrol'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of these errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on basic sentence structure and proofreading for verb endings would be highly beneficial.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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