Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The diagram illustrates the production of ethanol.

Overall, the production of ethanol consist of eight stages beginning with growing of plants and tree from energy and ending with carbon dioxide come from various kind of vehicles.

In the first stage, energy come from sunlight and carbon dioxide help the plants and trees to grow next stage is harvesting the trees after that. pre processing the object following by cellulose and then processing in labs .

For production of ethanol sugars are added.

In the seventh microbes added to made the ethanol and then ethanol is used in cars, trucks, and planes in last these automobiles exhale carbon dioxide that helps the nature to grow plants and trees . This whole cycle work like this

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the process as ethanol production and include its broad cycle: plant growth, harvesting, conversion, fuel use and carbon dioxide returning to support growth. However, the account is only partial and some stages are unclear or inaccurate. The diagram shows cellulose being processed into sugars, followed by the addition of microbes to produce ethanol; “For production of ethanol sugars are added” reverses or obscures this sequence. The overview also says there are eight stages, although it does not clearly summarise the full sequence. The response is 26 words below the required minimum, which limits the detail available. To improve, describe each key transformation accurately and explain the cycle’s main feature: carbon dioxide released by transport returns to plant growth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

There is a basic chronological structure, with an overview followed by a description of early and later stages. Sequencing expressions such as “In the first stage,” “after that,” and “then” help the reader follow the process. However, progression is uneven: the middle stages are compressed into one sentence, and the paragraph beginning “For production of ethanol sugars are added” interrupts the sequence rather than clarifying it. The final sentence, “This whole cycle work like this,” adds little and does not provide a clear conclusion. Some links are also missing between ideas, particularly between processing, sugars and microbes. Organise the stages into clear paragraphs and use precise references such as “the resulting sugars” to make the relationships easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses relevant process vocabulary, including “harvesting,” “cellulose,” “processing,” “microbes,” and “carbon dioxide,” so the reader can recognise the topic and several key stages. However, the range is limited, and some word choices or collocations are inaccurate or vague. “Processing in labs” is not supported by the diagram, which depicts a factory or refinery, while “automobiles exhale carbon dioxide” is an awkward way to describe emissions. “The object” does not identify the harvested plant material clearly, and “various kind of vehicles” is imprecise. Use specific process terms consistently—for example, “plant material,” “is converted into,” and “emissions”—and avoid adding details not shown in the visual. This would make the description more precise and natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt both simple and linked sentences, and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, frequent errors in verb forms, agreement, articles and sentence boundaries make several stages difficult to read. For example, “the production of ethanol consist” needs subject–verb agreement, and “energy come … help” has incorrect verb forms. In “microbes added to made the ethanol,” the passive form and infinitive are not controlled. The sentence beginning “In the first stage” also runs several steps together without clear punctuation, while “In the seventh” lacks a clear noun after the ordinal. Use a consistent present simple or passive structure, such as “The material is pre-processed, producing cellulose,” and separate each stage into complete sentences. Check agreement and punctuation during revision.

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