Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-16

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 given diagram illustrates the information that how the biofuel called ethanol is produced in depicted by the process chart.

Overall, the process begin from planting of trees. this process has involved plethora of steps, while the microbes are added in the last stage and further the carbon dioxide is then released into the atmosphere.

It can be vividly seen that, initially, the trees are planted and left them to grow, as they are source of energy which consists of sunlight and carbon dioxide. After that, when the plants are fully grown, then they are harvested by the use of tractor and other equipment. Moreover, when the harvesting is done, then that material produced from harvesting is gone through pre processing which involved the machies for this processs and generate cellulose as output from machines.

Moving towards the rest of the information,the cellulose have to complete processing stage with the use of numerous types of chemicals. then, the cellulose get converted into sugar. However,some microbes are added into the sugar and ethanol fuel is produced. next, this fuel is ready to use for the different kinds of vehicles such as cars, trucks and aeroplanes, then they released the carbon dioxide into the environment and that gas consumed by the trees.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully covers all the main stages of the process diagram, from the initial planting and growing of trees to harvesting, pre-processing, cellulose extraction, chemical processing, the addition of microbes, and the final production and use of ethanol which releases carbon dioxide. An overview is attempted in the second paragraph, outlining the cyclical nature of the process. However, some descriptions are slightly repetitive or literal, and the overview could be more clearly integrated and polished. Overall, the response fulfills the requirements of Task 1 by selecting and reporting the main features accurately without significant omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The response is arranged into four paragraphs, providing a logical progression from the beginning to the end of the biofuel cycle. Cohesive devices such as "Overall", "It can be vividly seen that", "After that", and "Moving towards the rest of the information" are used to guide the reader through the stages. However, some cohesive links feel mechanical or slightly awkward, such as starting sentences with "then" or "next". Paragraphing is generally appropriate, though the transition between sentences within paragraphs could be smoother to enhance readability and ensure better cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student attempts a range of vocabulary suitable for a process diagram, including terms like "biofuel", "harvested", "pre-processing", "cellulose", and "microbes". However, there are notable limitations and word-choice errors, such as "the process begin" (instead of begins), "plethora of steps" (which sounds overly dramatic or slightly unnatural in a factual report), and spelling errors like "machies" and "processs". While the vocabulary is adequate to communicate the main points, these inaccuracies restrict the score to the lower end of the band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and conditional-like time clauses (e.g., "when the plants are fully grown, then they are harvested"). However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ("the process begin", "the cellulose have"), run-on sentences, awkward punctuation, and incorrect tense usage. For instance, "they released the carbon dioxide" should be in the present tense ("release"). While communication is generally maintained, the frequency of grammatical slips prevents a higher score.

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