Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 visuographic illustrates the process to produce a biofuel called ethanol through various stages by using various types of processes.

Overall, it can be seen that there are multiple process interconnected to produce ethanol. Beginning from harvesting the plants and it passes through different processes and finished by adding microbes into ethanol.

Firstly, the plants and trees grow with the help of the sunlight energy and carbon dioxide. Thereafter, it goes through the harvesting process. After that, it goes through pre-processing where the harvested plants are transformed into a tiny pieces. Then it converted into small cellulose this and then this cellulose passes through a lab process to make sugars. Afterwards, mixture of sugars and microbes added to produced ethanol. After this, it used in different type of transportation, such as cars, trucks and aircraft and when it used ethanol it release carbon dioxide into atmosphere to grow trees and plants for repeating this process.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student attempts to summarise the process diagram detailing ethanol production, covering the main stages from plant growth and harvesting to pre-processing, cellulose extraction, sugar conversion, microbe addition, and ultimate use in transport with carbon dioxide recycling. However, the overview is rather weak, merely stating that there are 'multiple process interconnected', and some steps are described somewhat vaguely or colloquially (e.g., 'tiny pieces' and 'small cellulose this'). While all parts of the diagram are touched upon, the description lacks the precision and clear synthesis expected at a higher band. It satisfies the basic requirements of reporting the visual data, but the development and cohesion of the information remain somewhat basic, placing it comfortably in the band 6 category.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response exhibits a coherent overall arrangement with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Cohesive devices are employed to sequence the steps chronologically, using transitional phrases such as 'Firstly', 'Thereafter', 'After that', 'Then', and 'Afterwards'. However, referencing and cohesion are sometimes faulty or mechanical; for instance, the phrase 'and when it used ethanol it release' demonstrates poor integration of clauses. Paragraphing is attempted, though the second body paragraph is quite dense and could have been broken down further to improve readability. Progression is visible, but the overuse of simple sequential connectors keeps the cohesion at a functional rather than sophisticated level.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student uses an adequate vocabulary range for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'biofuel', 'ethanol', 'harvesting', 'cellulose', 'microbes', and 'carbon dioxide'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation inaccuracies throughout the text, such as 'The visuographic illustrates' (visuographic is not standard usage; 'diagram' or 'illustration' would be correct) and 'multiple process interconnected' (grammatical mismatch). Other awkward expressions include 'transformed into a tiny pieces' and 'lab process'. While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey the general meaning, these lexical slips and limitations prevent the response from achieving a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and adverbial time markers. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('there are multiple process interconnected'), missing articles ('transformed into a tiny pieces'), and tense/form errors ('mixture of sugars and microbes added to produced ethanol' and 'when it used ethanol it release'). Punctuation is generally functional, but the frequent grammatical errors cause occasional minor disruptions for the reader, even though communication is not severely impeded.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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