Band 7.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.0 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-07

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 7.0)

The diagram illustrates the detailed steps from harvesting to processing of a biofuel called ethanol production.

Overall, the procedure is depicted as a cycle which starts with carbon dioxide emmisions absorbed by plants, which are processed into sugars. these sugars are utilized as biproducts for microbes to produce ethanol as a fuel for vehicles. These automobiles later emit the gases again into the atmosphere.

Carbon dioxide from different vehicles dissolves in the atmosphere which is captured by the trees and plants for cellular functioning. The grown plants are then harvested and pre-processed to extract cellulose. Furthermore, a laboratory processing step breaks down the cellulose into simple sugars.

Microbes are added to these sugars as feed. The microorganisms use sugar as food while releasing ethanol as a biproduct. This ethanol is used as a biofuel in several vehicles like airplanes, heavy duty trucks and cars. Using ethanol as a fuel, these automobiles release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere restarting the cycle again.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The response covers the main stages and captures the diagram’s circular nature: plant growth, harvesting, pre-processing, cellulose conversion to sugars, microbial action, ethanol use in transport, and carbon dioxide returning to plants. The overview gives the reader a clear account of the cycle, and the transport modes are accurately identified. This is a strong, well-supported summary. A few details are less precise: the diagram shows sunlight and carbon dioxide supporting plant growth, rather than carbon dioxide alone being absorbed, and it does not specify that processing occurs in a laboratory or that microbes release ethanol as a by-product. Keep explanations closely tied to the visual and distinguish shown information from inferred biological detail to make the account more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised into a clear overview followed by two paragraphs that move through the production cycle in a logical order. Linking expressions such as “Overall,” “Furthermore,” and “These automobiles” help connect the stages, and the final sentence effectively returns to the cycle’s starting point. The progression is easy to follow throughout. Some links could be more exact: “these sugars” begins a sentence after a full stop with a lowercase letter, while “as feed” and “as food” repeat the same idea across adjacent sentences. More concise connections between the sugar, microbes, and ethanol stages would make cohesion smoother and less repetitive.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of process and topic vocabulary, including “pre-processed,” “cellulose,” “microorganisms,” and “biofuel,” which allows the stages to be described clearly. The writer also varies references to transport, using “vehicles” and “automobiles.” However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise or informal for an academic process description: “dissolves in the atmosphere,” “cellular functioning,” and “as feed” do not describe the diagram naturally. There are also spelling errors in “emmisions” and “biproducts,” and “biproduct” is not the intended term. More accurate process verbs and careful proofreading would improve precision and control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex structures, including relative clauses (“which are processed into sugars”) and a participial opening (“Using ethanol as a fuel…”). Most sentences communicate the process clearly, and the sequence of present-tense descriptions is generally controlled. Some errors remain, however. The overview begins “The diagram illustrates the detailed steps … of a biofuel called ethanol production,” an awkwardly constructed noun phrase; “these sugars” also starts a sentence without a capital letter. In “The microorganisms use sugar as food while releasing ethanol,” the subject of the participial phrase is not clearly the microbes. Revise these constructions and check sentence boundaries to make the grammar more consistently accurate.

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