Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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)

The diagram illustrate the production process of a biofuel named ethanol.

It is a natural on repeat process which starts form plants and trees taking the energy (sunlight & cabon dioxide) to use the ethanol in many vehicles.

The natural energy which are sunlight and carbon dioxcide helps plants and tress to grow. After grows people harvest these plants and it become cellulose by pre-processing. Then it go through a process to become sugars. To make the ethanol microbes added in the sugars and finally the ethanol produced.

The produced ethanol used in many vehicles (cars, trucks, airplane) as a biofuel and this helps them to operate. These vehicles produce carbon dioxcide in the air. And the carbon dioxcide again become one of the energy souces for the plants and trees to grow.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You cover the main stages, from plant growth and harvesting through processing, the addition of microbes, and ethanol use in transport. You also identify the cycle in which carbon dioxide from vehicles returns to support plant growth. However, some details are unclear or incomplete: for example, the diagram shows cellulose being processed into sugars, but your description compresses this into “it go through a process to become sugars.” The overview could more clearly state that this is a cyclical process and distinguish the production stages from the later fuel-use and carbon-dioxide return stages. The response is also 17 words below the required minimum, limiting the detail you can provide. Develop the stages more fully and report the sequence precisely.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information follows a generally logical sequence: plant growth, harvesting and processing, followed by ethanol use and the return of carbon dioxide. The final paragraph also helps show how the process cycles back to the beginning. Basic linking expressions such as “After,” “Then,” and “finally” make the order understandable. However, the response is arranged in only two short body paragraphs after the opening, and some links are awkward or unclear, particularly “After grows people harvest these plants” and “And the carbon dioxcide again become…”. Use clearer transitions between the production and transport phases, and make references such as “it” explicit so readers can follow each stage without hesitation.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “harvest,” “pre-processing,” “cellulose,” “sugars,” “microbes,” and “biofuel,” which helps communicate the diagram’s subject. However, the range is limited and several word-choice, collocation, and spelling problems reduce precision. “Natural on repeat process” is not a natural way to describe a cycle, while “use the ethanol in many vehicles” is less precise than describing ethanol as fuel for transport. There are also repeated misspellings, including “cabon,” “dioxcide,” “tress,” and “souces.” Aim for accurate spelling and more formal process language, and avoid repeating “carbon dioxide” without varying the sentence structure.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses mostly simple sentences, with a few attempts to connect stages using time clauses and conjunctions. The sequence remains broadly understandable, but frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, and sentence construction make the writing less controlled. Examples include “The diagram illustrate,” “After grows people harvest,” “it become cellulose,” and “the ethanol produced,” where the verb forms or sentence structure are incomplete or incorrect. The sentence beginning “The natural energy which are…” also has an agreement problem. Practise accurate present-simple descriptions of processes, such as “Plants grow,” “the material is harvested,” and “microbes are added,” then combine these into a wider range of correctly formed sentences.

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