Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-01

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)

This diagram illustrates the production of a biofuel called ethanol.

Overall, the process through which ethanol is produced is a cylce. The carbondioxide used by the trees are the end products of the ethanol in the cycle which is then used as an initial product.

Initially, plants grow by breathing carbondioxide and using sunlight for photosynthesis. These plants are harvested and cut down in pre-processing. cellulose is produced by the breakdown of plants which is a form of sugar.

This cellulose is goes through processing to be further brokendown into smaller molecules of sugar. If microbes are added to this sugar, ethanol is produced. ethanol can be used as a fuel for vehicle's. It can be used in flying aeroplanes, for running of cars and trucks. Ethanol as a fuel when burned, it causes emission of carbondioxide which then is taken by plants.

Thus, Ethanol is a biofuel formed from trees which burns into carbondioxide that is helpful to grow trees.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages of the biofuel production cycle from plants to ethanol and its eventual conversion back into carbon dioxide. However, some aspects are under-developed or lack precision. For instance, the transition where plants are turned into cellulose and subsequently into smaller sugar molecules is somewhat generalized. The overview captures the cyclical nature of the process reasonably well, noting that the carbon dioxide released from burning ethanol is absorbed by growing trees, which satisfies the requirement to report main features and make comparisons.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The essay has a coherent overall arrangement and follows a logical chronological progression that mirrors the steps in the diagram. Paragraphing is utilized to separate the introduction, the main process stages, and the concluding summary. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'This cellulose', and 'Thus' are used to connect ideas, although referencing is at times slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the repeated use of 'It can be used' and 'carbondioxide' references, which prevents the flow from being entirely smooth.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms like 'photosynthesis', 'cellulose', 'microbes', and 'emission'. However, there are several spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'cylce' for cycle, 'carbondioxide' as a single unspaced word, 'brokendown' as a single word, and 'vehicle's' with an unnecessary apostrophe. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, but these inaccuracies in spelling and formatting slightly detract from the overall lexical control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as 'This cellulose is goes through processing to be further brokendown' and conditional structures like 'If microbes are added to this sugar, ethanol is produced.' There are noticeable grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, including verb form errors ('is goes'), missing articles ('cellulose is produced'), and punctuation slips ('Ethanol as a fuel when burned, it causes...'). These errors are present throughout the text, though they rarely impede overall communication.

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