Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)
The diagram represent the process of how a biofuel also known as ethanol is produced and how carbon dioxide is recycled.
Overall, there are approximately 8 steps to producing ethanol. This process includes natural steps, man-made resources and chemical steps. It is a cyclical process which starts with plants and trees grows by consuming sun energy and carbon dioxide. At the end, when the ethanol will be burned in the vehicles , the ethanol will be changed to carbon dioxide and the process will restart.
At a fleeting glance, plants and tree grows by using the sunlight and carbon dioxide as their energy source. Once they are mature, it will be harvested by farmer with farming equipment and it will be transported to pre-processing. At this stage, the harvested material is ready for cellulose.
Moving further, the cellulose is sent to processing , which will break down into sugars. Microbes will be added into sugars and gere the ethanol is ready to use. When the ethanol is used in the vehicles like cars, trucks and aeroplanes and vehicles will turn out the ethanol into carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide will mixed up in the atmosphere and it will absorbed by the trees and plants during their growth. Here, the process forms a recycled process
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by summarizing the main stages of the ethanol production cycle shown in the diagram. An overview is provided, noting that it is a cyclical process involving approximately 8 steps. Key stages—from sunlight and plant growth to harvesting, pre-processing, cellulose breakdown, sugar conversion, and the addition of microbes to create ethanol—are reported accurately. Furthermore, the response correctly identifies the final combustion stage in vehicles and the subsequent release and reabsorption of carbon dioxide. While some minor details could be elaborated further, the overall reporting is clear, accurate, and completely grounded in the visual data, satisfying the requirements for a Band 7.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response demonstrates a clear logical organization and progression throughout. It is divided into an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs that follow the chronological flow of the diagram from left to right and top to bottom. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'At a fleeting glance', 'Moving further', and 'When' are utilized to guide the reader through the stages, though some transitional phrases feel slightly unnatural. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the overview from the detailed process steps. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as pronoun shifts between singular and plural forms (e.g., 'plants and tree grows... it will be harvested'), preventing the essay from achieving a higher score.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing a scientific process, including terms like 'cyclical process', 'energy source', 'harvested', 'cellulose', 'sugars', and 'microbes'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'The diagram represent', 'sun energy', 'gere' (instead of 'where'), and 'Carbon dioxide will mixed up'. These lexical slips and occasional awkward phrasing restrict the score to a Band 6.0, as the vocabulary is sufficient for the task but lacks the precision, flexibility, and control seen at higher band levels.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and temporal conjunctions. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('plants and tree grows', 'the ethanol will be burned... the ethanol will be changed'), tense inconsistencies ('when the ethanol will be burned', 'Carbon dioxide will mixed up'), and missing articles. While these errors do not severely impede overall communication, their frequency prevents the essay from reaching Band 7.0, where frequent error-free sentences and tight control of complex structures are expected.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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