Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-04

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 diagram illustartes the seqential process involved in the production of ethanol as a biofuel and highlights its cyclical cabon lifecycle.

Overall, the process consists of several key stages from organic plant growth progressing through chemical processing to produce ethenol and cluminating in its consumption, which releases carbon dioxide back into the atmoshpere to restart the cycle.

Initially, plants and trees absorb energy in the form of sunlight and carbon dioxide to grow. once fully grown ,these crops are harvested vegetation then undergoes pre-procesing facility to be converted into sugar.

In the subsequent steps ,microbes are added to the sugars to facilities fermenatiton ,which ultimately produces ethenol.once ethnol is ready ,it is used as fuel for various modes od transportation ,inculding cars,trucks nad airplains.As these vehicals consume the fuel,they emit carboon dioxide back in to the air.This realsed carboon dioxide along with solar energy,is then re-absorbed by plants and trees ,rendering the entire ethanol production and usage loop a contionus ,renewable cycle.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the prompt by summarising the main features of the biofuel production cycle and reporting the key stages. An overview is present, highlighting both the sequential process from plant growth to ethanol consumption and the cyclical nature of the carbon lifecycle. However, certain parts of the response are somewhat under-developed or contain minor inaccuracies when compared to the visual data. For instance, the transition from harvesting directly to a pre-processing facility omits the initial raw cellulose stage shown in the diagram. Additionally, the description of microbes facilitating fermentation is slightly compressed. While the core message is clearly conveyed and the main stages are outlined, providing a slightly more balanced and complete account of every intermediate stage would elevate this to a higher level.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the initial growth of plants through processing and final consumption. Information and ideas are generally well managed, and paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the overview, and the sequential steps of the process. Cohesive devices are employed to guide the reader, such as "Initially", "Overall", and "In the subsequent steps". However, cohesion occasionally feels slightly mechanical or features minor lapses in referencing, such as the abrupt transitions between sentences in the final body paragraph. Furthermore, minor punctuation and spacing slips affect the overall flow. To reach the next band, the integration of cohesive devices must become more flexible and seamless throughout the entire text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to the diagram, such as "cyclical", "fermentation", and "renewable cycle". However, there are notable spelling errors and word choice inaccuracies throughout the response, including "illustartes", "seqential", "cabon", "ethenol", "cluminating", "atmoshpere", "pre-procesing", "facilities", "fermenatiton", "ethnol", "od", "inculding", "trucks nad airplains", "vehicals", "carboon", and "contionus". These errors do not entirely impede communication, but they are frequent enough to restrict the score to this band. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate greater control over spelling and word forms, as well as a more precise application of less common lexical items.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, attempting relative clauses and participial phrases, such as "which ultimately produces ethanol" and "rendering the entire ethanol production and usage loop a continuous, renewable cycle". There are, however, several grammatical errors, particularly concerning punctuation, capitalization, and article usage. Examples include missing capital letters at the start of sentences ("once fully grown"), incorrect spacing around punctuation marks, and minor prepositional inaccuracies such as "back in to the air". Despite these errors, the structures used do not impede communication, and the majority of simple sentences remain accurate. To improve, the writer needs to increase the frequency of error-free complex sentences and ensure meticulous proofreading of punctuation and mechanics.

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

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