Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

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

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 outline the various stages involved the process of ethanol, begning with the plants and ending with ethanol.

Overall, the production of biofuel has eight stages which comes out in the form of ethanol. Intially start with the plants and trees and end with the ethanol. Each step work properly and send to the next stage which is quite near to final production called ethanol.

Firstly, after the proper growth of plants and trees the harvester cut them and dilver to the pre-processing phase on the tractor. Pre-processing step made a cellulose for the processing phase in industrial area. Processing in industries on cellulose is the next step where it convert Sugars form.

Turning to the remaining stages where the suagars made up a microbes added which is the second last step of biofuel production.

At the final, ethanol are produced by the help of microbes added, after that machine burn it for some uses. Ethanoal are used in some heavy machine in industries for work and they make a carbon dioxide by the burn of ethanol. Carbon dioxide are very helpfull for the grwoth of plants and trees.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response5.5
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.0
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the broad sequence from plant growth through harvesting and processing to ethanol, and you mention the return of carbon dioxide to support plant growth. However, the overview is inaccurate: the diagram shows a cycle with transport use and carbon dioxide returning to the plants, not simply a process “beginning with the plants and ending with ethanol.” Several details are also misreported or omitted. For example, ethanol is used by a car, truck and aeroplane, rather than being burned by unspecified “heavy machine[s] in industries”; the diagram also shows sunlight and carbon dioxide helping plants grow. The stages are not eight as stated. To improve, give an accurate overview of the cycle and describe the key stages and transport-related emissions without adding unsupported details.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has some paragraphing and a broadly chronological order: plant growth and harvesting are followed by processing, then ethanol use and carbon dioxide. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Turning to the remaining stages,” and “At the final” help signal movement through the process. However, progression is weakened by repetition in the overview, which restates that the process starts with plants and ends with ethanol, and by unclear links such as “the sugars made up a microbes added.” The final paragraph also combines ethanol production, its uses and the carbon cycle without clearly separating these relationships. Organise the report into a concise overview and clearly sequenced stage descriptions, using precise references to connect each input and output.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “pre-processing,” “cellulose,” “processing,” “microbes,” and “carbon dioxide,” which helps communicate the topic. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations are inaccurate, making parts difficult to interpret. For instance, “the harvester cut them and dilver to the pre-processing phase on the tractor” confuses the equipment and the movement of the plants, while “machine burn it” is not a precise description of the diagram. There are also noticeable spelling errors, including “begning,” “Intially,” “suagars,” and “Ethanoal.” Use accurate process verbs such as “is converted into” and “is transported to,” and check spelling and word forms carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and longer sentence forms, and the overall sequence can usually be followed. However, grammatical errors occur frequently and sometimes make relationships unclear. Examples include “The diagram outline” and “the harvester cut them,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect, and “Overall, the production of biofuel has eight stages which comes out in the form of ethanol,” where the relative clause is not formed accurately. Other problems include “Processing in industries on cellulose is the next step where it convert Sugars form” and “ethanol are produced,” involving sentence structure, agreement and verb forms. Practise building clear passive sentences for process descriptions, such as “The cellulose is processed to produce sugars,” and check agreement, articles and tense in each sentence.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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