Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-07
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 5.0)
The diagram illustrates the process of producing ethanol from plants and trees which shows how biofuel contributes in carbon cycle .Overall,ethanol energy production involve several stages. Main components of ethanol are energy, sunlight and carbon dioxide. Furthermore, energy is basically produced by plants after harvesting and some pre process cellulose is produce, but it also requires more processing in industries to make ethanol in addition of sugars and microbes.
Air planes and some other vehicle like cars uses ethanol and releases carbon dioxide that plants and trees need. Moreover, this process recycles again for the production of biofuel.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0
The response is significantly under the 150-word minimum requirement, which severely impacts the ability to fully address the task. While the student identifies the main topic (ethanol production), the description is superficial and lacks the necessary detail to report the main features of the process effectively. Key stages of the diagram, such as the specific conversion of cellulose or the role of fermentation, are omitted or described in a vague manner. Because the response is less than 100 words, it fails to provide a comprehensive summary, leading to a low score for task achievement.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is very short, consisting of only two brief paragraphs. While there is a basic attempt at logical sequencing, the lack of development makes the overall structure feel disjointed. Cohesive devices are used in a mechanical or repetitive way, such as 'Furthermore' and 'Moreover', which do not always connect ideas smoothly. The paragraphing is insufficient to organize the information logically, and the progression of ideas is hindered by the brevity of the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary is limited and repetitive, relying on basic terms like 'produced', 'process', and 'energy'. There are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'in addition of sugars', which is non-standard. The student attempts to use some topic-specific vocabulary like 'cellulose' and 'microbes', but the overall range is insufficient to demonstrate the flexibility required for higher bands. The word choice is often imprecise, which limits the clarity of the technical description.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex structures, but these are often marred by grammatical errors. For example, 'Air planes and some other vehicle like cars uses ethanol' contains subject-verb agreement errors ('vehicle' should be plural, 'uses' should be 'use'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods. While the meaning is generally understandable, the frequency of errors in basic sentence construction prevents the response from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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