Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-15

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 illustrates the production of ethanol ,which is a biofuel altough ethanol is a substitue of petrol we can use it in several vehicle like car, buses and trucks but the making process of ethanol is very complex.

Overall ethanol production consist of several sequential stages,begining with the growing plants and ending with the production of ethanol.

Initially this is a cyclic process where first farmers grows plant and trees by using natural energy mixture of sunlight and carbon dioxide then farmer harvest sugarcane crops and fed it into the machine for preprocessing where the machine seprated the cellulose from sugarcane crops

subsequently after this the last stage is the cellulose sent to laboratory or plant for screening and processing while the cellulose already contains sugar so lab workers seprated sugar from cellulose the resulting is passed through screening system where microbes also added which conclude over process here and now the ethanol is ready for storage and distribution

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the subject and give a broad sequence from plant growth to ethanol, and you recognise that the diagram is cyclical. However, the account only partially reports the process: it omits the key final stages in which ethanol is used by vehicles and the resulting carbon dioxide returns to support plant growth. Several details are also unsupported or inaccurate: the diagram does not specify sugarcane, farmers, laboratory workers, screening, storage or distribution, and it shows cellulose being converted into sugars before microbes are added. The overview says the process ends with ethanol, which misses the cycle’s return stage. To strengthen the response, describe the labelled stages accurately and include the transport and carbon-dioxide loop in the overview.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and a chronological account beginning with plant growth. Sequencing expressions such as “Initially” and “subsequently” help signal movement through the process. However, the progression becomes difficult to follow in the long final paragraph, where several stages and explanations are joined together without clear boundaries. The phrase “the last stage” is also confusing because the process continues after ethanol is produced. Some links are mechanical or unclear, and the overview does not align fully with the later description. Use separate sentences for each major stage, connect them with precise transitions, and organise the account so the carbon-dioxide return completes the cycle.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “production,” “sequential stages,” “harvest,” “cellulose” and “processing,” which helps communicate the general topic. There is also an attempt to use more specific terms such as “preprocessing.” However, spelling errors and imprecise or unsupported word choices reduce clarity: “substitue,” “seprated” and “screening” are problematic, while “laboratory,” “storage” and “distribution” are not shown in the diagram. Some phrases are awkward, such as “natural energy mixture” and “conclude over process.” Aim for accurate labels from the visual and natural collocations—for example, “sunlight and carbon dioxide,” “converted into sugars,” and “microbes are added.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more extended sentence forms, including a relative clause in “ethanol, which is a biofuel” and a sequence linked with “while.” However, control is limited, and frequent errors sometimes make relationships between stages difficult to understand. Examples include “production consist,” “farmers grows,” and “the cellulose sent,” where agreement or verb forms are incorrect. Several sentences run on, particularly the final paragraph, and punctuation is often missing or misplaced, making it hard to identify where one idea ends. Practise forming clear passive process sentences, such as “The crops are harvested” and “The cellulose is processed into sugars,” and check subject–verb agreement, articles and sentence boundaries.

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