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 figure shows the production proccess of biofuel which is commonlly called ethanol.
Overall, production of ethanol is a chemical chain proccess which untilize diffirent plants and it mostly used in diffirent vehicles as a fuel.
Ethanol production start from agrricultural step such as growing plant and trees which uses energy in form sunlight and carbon dioxide available in atmosphere. After succussful growth of plants, trees and by products of crops are harvested. Furthermore these harvested plants pre-procced in machines to extract cellulose of plants. Afterward, chamical proccess starts for production of sugar compound. Moreover this sugar is added by microbs to perform more chemical proccess. In result of that we got finalized product of ethanol. Because it is a biofuel, it can be used in diffirent vehicles such as cars, trucks and planes. As this chain chain proccess, it do not stop here and these vehicles start emmiting carbon dioxide. This carbon dioxide releasee in atmosphere and again consumed by plant to start chain proccess.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student successfully covers all the main stages of the biofuel production process shown in the diagram, beginning with the growth of plants using sunlight and carbon dioxide, through harvesting, pre-processing, chemical processing into sugars, the addition of microbes to create ethanol, and finally ending with fuel combustion and the release of carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. The overview captures the cyclic nature of the process and its primary use as a fuel for vehicles. While the response meets the minimum length requirement at 166 words, the development is somewhat straightforward and relies on a literal step-by-step description without grouping stages into broader phases as effectively as a higher-band response would. Nonetheless, all parts of the task are addressed, and the information selected accurately reflects the visual data.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is arranged with a clear introduction and a single body paragraph outlining the steps, though the lack of proper paragraphing limits the overall organizational score. Cohesive devices are used to link the sequence of events, such as 'After successful growth', 'Furthermore', 'Afterward', and 'Moreover'. However, some referencing and transitions feel mechanical or repetitive, and the text lacks a distinct concluding overview paragraph. Paragraphing is insufficient as the entire body of the process is compressed into one block of text, which impacts the structural coherence of the essay.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, attempting process-specific terms such as 'harvested', 'cellulose', 'compounds', 'microbes', and 'emmiting'. However, there are numerous spelling errors throughout the text, including 'proccess', 'commonlly', 'untilize', 'diffirent', 'agrricultural', 'succussful', 'pre-procced', 'chamical', 'microbs', and 'emmiting'. These lexical errors and spelling mistakes occasionally strain the reader, though the overall meaning remains clear. Less common vocabulary is attempted but lacks precision due to these persistent spelling and word-form inaccuracies.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative clauses and conditional-like time clauses. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, featuring multiple errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage, such as 'production of ethanol start' instead of 'starts', 'uses energy in form sunlight', and 'As this chain chain proccess, it do not stop here'. Punctuation is basic, and missing articles ('in atmosphere', 'by plant') occur frequently. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent the response from achieving a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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