Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-09-24
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 5.0)
The process illustrates production of biofuel called ethanol.
Overall, it is an circular, industrial process, which contains of 8 steps, beginning with natural plants harvesting to spreading carbon dioxide to the air.
Initially, plants and trees should be grown enough to be harvested. After harvested, it goes to pre-processing procedures. Then, molecula called cellulose is formed and goes to laboratory. In the laboratory some chemical processes take place.
Next, sugars are formed. After that, microbes added to sugars making ethanol. Ethanol,by the way, becomes wide-spread because of transportation vehicles, such as cars, trucks, plains. As a vehicles use ethanol, it is spreading carbon dioxide to the air. In the air it goes to forests,where a lot of green plants grown. And then, photosynthesis takes place forming loop.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0
The student attempts to summarise the diagram illustrating the production of ethanol, identifying the main steps of the cycle. However, the response falls significantly short of the required 150-word minimum, containing only 127 words. This under-length impacts the overall adequacy of the task coverage, leading to a penalty under Task Achievement. While the student outlines the progression from plant growth and harvesting through pre-processing, chemical processing, and the addition of microbes to create ethanol, some descriptions lack precision and key relationships, such as the absorption of carbon dioxide during photosynthesis to complete the cycle, are described somewhat informally. To achieve a higher band, the student must expand on the stages in greater detail and ensure the word count requirement is fully met.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response exhibits an overall logical flow, tracing the circular process from plant harvesting to carbon dioxide release and reabsorption. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'After harvested', 'Then', and 'Next' are employed to guide the reader through the stages of the diagram. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped, with the entire body squeezed into a single short block after the introduction. Furthermore, some transitional phrases feel mechanical or awkward, such as 'Ethanol, by the way, becomes wide-spread', which disrupts the formal academic tone required for Task 1. Improving paragraph structure and refining cohesive links will significantly enhance the readability and organisational score of the essay.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary range suitable for describing a simple industrial process, incorporating terms like 'industrial process', 'harvesting', 'pre-processing', 'chemical processes', and 'photosynthesis'. However, there are notable word choice and collocation errors throughout the text, such as 'circular, industrial process, which contains of 8 steps' (should be 'consists of'), 'molecula' (spelling error for 'molecule'), and 'plains' (confused with 'planes'). Additionally, phrases like 'a lot of green plants grown' are overly simplistic for an Academic task. While communication is not severely impeded, these lexical inaccuracies and spelling slips restrict the score to band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses ('which contains of 8 steps') and temporal clauses ('After harvested'). However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as missing articles ('production of biofuel'), incorrect passive voice formation ('After harvested' instead of 'After being harvested'), missing prepositions or subject-verb agreement issues ('microbes added to sugars making ethanol'), and fragment sentences ('As a vehicles use ethanol...'). Punctuation and spacing errors also occur, such as missing spaces after commas. Because frequent grammatical errors persist and restrict the variety of error-free complex sentences, a band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.