Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-17
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 4.5)
Th diagram illustrates how ethanol is manufactured. Its outlines the various stages involved begning with the use of energy (sunlight or carbon dioxide) and cluminating in the ethanol.
Overall the process consist of 7 stages. it begans with energy that consumed by plants and trees and end with carbon dioxide. Several procedures are involved before the final product is obtained.
Initially, the energy is consumed by plants and trees cultivation. After the puberty, the next step is transfered to harvesting the meture plants. The pre-processing is done by using the pices of trees that cut by machines to prepare cellulose. After that, the cellulose is transfered into processing phase in whic they use different chemicals to produced sugars.Microbes were added with sugar to maked the final stage of ethanol.
After the production of ethanol, it were used as a biofuel in plans,trucks and in cars for transportation perpose. Furthermore, they emmited the carbondioxide into air, that can cause air pollution.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to describe the process of ethanol production shown in the diagram, identifying the starting point involving energy and plants, and the final stages leading to ethanol and carbon dioxide release. However, the summary contains several inaccuracies and a misunderstanding of the visual data. For instance, the reference to "After the puberty" is a bizarre mistranslation or OCR error for maturity/harvesting, and the overview states there are 7 stages whereas the diagram depicts a continuous cycle. Important links between stages, such as the role of carbon dioxide being absorbed by plants to restart the cycle, are missed or poorly described. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed, leading to a band score of 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is divided into four paragraphs, which provides a basic structural framework. However, logical progression is frequently disrupted by poor referencing and confusing transitions. For example, expressions like "It begans with energy that consumed" and "After the production of ethanol, it were used" demonstrate faulty subject-verb agreement and confusing pronoun referencing. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, resulting in mechanical flow. Paragraphing is attempted, but internal cohesion within paragraphs lacks clarity, restricting the response to a band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
Lexical range is very limited and basic, with numerous noticeable errors that occasionally impede the reader's understanding. There are severe spelling and word-choice errors throughout the text, such as "Th" instead of The, "begning" for beginning, "cluminating" for culminating, "pices" for pieces, "meture" for mature, "maked" for make, and "perpose" for purpose. Furthermore, terms like "puberty" are entirely inappropriate for plant harvesting. While the vocabulary is minimally adequate to convey a broad theme, these frequent errors place the response firmly in the band 4.0 to 4.5 range; a score of 4.5 is awarded.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
Grammatical control is weak, with a very limited range of structures and frequent errors. Simple sentences dominate, and attempts at complex or passive structures are consistently flawed, such as "the energy is consumed by plants and trees cultivation", "the next step is transfered to harvesting", and "it were used as a biofuel in plans,trucks and in cars". Subject-verb agreement is frequently broken (e.g., "Microbes were added... to maked", "they emmited"), and punctuation/spelling issues further detract from accuracy. Errors are frequent and often cause difficulty for the reader, fitting the descriptor for band 4.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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