Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-20

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 6.5)

The process illustrates the production of biofuel known as ethanol.

Overall, it is evident that it is a circular natural process having multiple stages. It begins with the absorption of the energy by the plants and trees in the form of sunlight and carbondioxide, and ends at the release of carbondioxide in the environment.

The process starts with the utilization of a natural energy source by the plants and trees to grow and make their food. After fields get ready harvested by the farmers through machines, then crops will pass through pre-processing procedures to produce small fragments leads to the formation of cellulose.

At the next stage, cellulose passes through different procedures in the lab resulting in the extraction of complex structures of sugars. After addition of microbes to these sugars ethanol will be produced. This end product is then used as a biofuel for different transportation vehicles, which releases a gas carbondioxide to the environment.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You give a clear overview of the cycle, identifying its starting point in sunlight and carbon dioxide being used by plants and its return through carbon dioxide released after ethanol is used as fuel. The main production stages are also reported in sequence: harvesting, pre-processing, cellulose, sugars, microbes and ethanol. This addresses the key features of the diagram. Some details, however, are generalised or not shown in the visual: for example, the diagram does not specify that crops are made into “small fragments,” that sugars are “complex structures,” or that processing takes place “in the lab.” You also omit the three transport modes and could explain more explicitly that the carbon dioxide from their use returns to support plant growth. More precise reporting of these details would strengthen the account.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The response is organised into an introduction, an overview and two paragraphs describing the stages, and the process generally moves in the correct order. Sequencing phrases such as “Overall,” “The process starts,” and “At the next stage” help the reader follow the account. The final sentence also links ethanol use to carbon dioxide release, reinforcing the cycle. Some connections are less smooth: “After fields get ready harvested … then crops will pass” is awkwardly constructed, and the transition from sugars to microbes and ethanol could be expressed more directly. The paragraphing is appropriate, but clearer links between each stage and more consistent reference to the diagram’s cycle would make progression more fluent.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “pre-processing,” “cellulose,” “extraction,” “ethanol,” and “biofuel,” which allows you to describe the main stages. There are also attempts at more formal wording, such as “utilization” and “resulting in.” However, some choices are imprecise or unnatural for this diagram: “fields get ready harvested,” “different procedures in the lab,” and “a gas carbondioxide” do not describe the stages clearly. “Carbondioxide” is also repeatedly written as one word; the standard form is “carbon dioxide.” Aim for accurate, natural collocations and avoid adding technical descriptions that the diagram does not provide.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use both simple and more complex sentence forms, including the overview sentence beginning “It begins…” and the clause “After addition of microbes to these sugars…”. Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical errors remain. For example, “After fields get ready harvested … then crops will pass” has an incomplete or incorrect construction, while “small fragments leads” has a subject–verb agreement problem. The phrase “After addition of microbes” also needs an article or a different structure, and “it is a circular natural process having multiple stages” is awkwardly formed. Review clause construction, agreement and articles, and use a consistent present tense for describing a process. More accurate control of these patterns would improve the clarity of your otherwise understandable account.

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