Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-08

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 6.0)

The diagram illustrates the process by which biofuel known as ethanol is produced.

Overall, the procedure is cyclic consists of eight stages, beginning with the plants and trees that use sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow, ending with the production of ethanol. The initial stages involve planing trees, harvsting and pre-processing, while the later phases focus on producing ethanol, which is used in variety of transportation modes.

To begin with, plants and trees absorb adequate sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow. Once the plants and trees have grown, they are harvest. After that, these harvested plants and trees undergo for pre-processing, where the cellulose are extracted from harvested trees. Next, these transfer for further processing to make sugars before the microbes are added to sugars.

Finally, the ethanol is produced. These manufactured ethanol are used in variety of transportation modes, which are airplane, heavy trucks and cars. These vehicles emit carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is absorb by the plants and trees.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response covers the main stages of the ethanol production process, from the growth of plants to their use in transportation. The overview is clear and identifies the cyclic nature of the process. However, the description of the stages is somewhat simplistic. For instance, the transition from 'cellulose' to 'sugars' is mentioned, but the intermediate steps (such as fermentation) are omitted or vaguely described as 'further processing'. While the main features are reported, the response could be improved by providing more detail on the specific chemical or mechanical transformations shown in the diagram to reach a higher band.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. Cohesive devices such as 'To begin with', 'After that', and 'Finally' are used to guide the reader through the process. However, some referencing is slightly awkward, such as 'These manufactured ethanol', where the pronoun does not match the noun. Paragraphing is used appropriately, and there is a clear progression of ideas from the growth of plants to the final consumption of ethanol. The flow is generally smooth, though the mechanical use of some linking words prevents a higher score.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, with terms like 'biofuel', 'cellulose', and 'microbes' used correctly. However, there are several spelling errors ('planing' instead of 'planting', 'harvsting' instead of 'harvesting') and minor word choice issues, such as 'variety of transportation modes' (should be 'a variety of'). The range is sufficient to describe the process, but the lack of precision and the presence of spelling mistakes limit the score. To improve, focus on accurate spelling and more varied collocations related to industrial processes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with subject-verb agreement ('cellulose are extracted', 'These manufactured ethanol are used') and article usage ('in variety of'). Additionally, there are issues with verb forms ('they are harvest' instead of 'harvested', 'which is absorb' instead of 'absorbed'). While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall accuracy. Increasing the variety of error-free complex sentences and proofreading for basic agreement errors would significantly improve the score.

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