Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · 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 6.5)

The diagram illustrates the process of production of ethanol, a type of biofuel, from plants and trees and shows how carbon dioxide is recycled during its production and use.

Overall, ethanol production involves several stages, beginning from the growth of plants and trees and harvesting and ending with the use of fuel in different types of transport. The key feature is that the carbon dioxide released during the process and absorb againg by plants and creating a cycle.

Initially, the plants and trees are grown by consumption of energy from sunlight and carbon dioxide from their surroundig. Then harvested and sent them for pre-processing. At this stage plant material is prepared and converted to cellulose.

In the next stage, the cellulose is tranferred to processing machine where it broken down into sugar molecules. These sugars then passes through biological process where microorganisms introduced tpo produce ethanol. The resulting biofuel is subsequently used to power various

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main stages of ethanol production and highlighting the cyclical nature of carbon dioxide. The overview captures both the processing steps and the recycling mechanism accurately. However, some aspects are slightly under-developed or abbreviated, particularly towards the end of the process, and the response cuts off mid-sentence before fully describing the final stage of transport use. This prevents the answer from achieving a higher rating, as full development of all visual features is expected for top bands. Nevertheless, the selection of key features is appropriate and relevant to the diagram provided.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response demonstrates a clear logical organisation and progression throughout, moving smoothly from the initial growth and harvesting stages through pre-processing and refining to final use. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the progression of the cycle. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'In the next stage', and 'These sugars' are employed to guide the reader through the sequence of events, though occasional mechanical transitions appear. Referencing is generally clear, helping to maintain a coherent overall arrangement from the beginning of the text to the point where it terminates.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, successfully attempting less common items related to the diagram such as 'pre-processing', 'cellulose', 'microorganisms', and 'biofuel'. However, there are noticeable word choice, spelling, and word form inaccuracies that occasionally reveal strain, such as 'absorb againg' instead of 'absorbed again', 'surroundig' instead of 'surroundings', and 'tranferred' instead of 'transferred'. While these errors do not severely impede communication, they restrict the lexical score because precision and accurate spelling are required for higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing exhibits a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordinate clauses and passive constructions such as 'the cellulose is tranferred to processing machine where it broken down'. However, there are some noticeable errors in grammar and punctuation, including missing articles ('to processing machine'), missing auxiliary verbs ('where it broken down'), prepositions, and incomplete sentence structures ('Then harvested and sent them for pre-processing'). These errors reflect a limitation in grammatical control, meaning error-free complex sentences are not sustained consistently enough to reach a higher level.

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