Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-26

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 4.5)

The diagram illustrates, information how a biofuel called ethanol is produced.

Overall, the biofuel production has 10 steps. it starts from energy ( sunlight+carbon dioxide) to last microbesadded and then ethanolproduce.

firstly, the energy from the sunlight and carbon that are effect on the plants and trees grow. and then go to the next step that are harvesting. the farmer using tractor to farming the land. and the next one is preprocessing the material that come from the haversting step. go to the preprocessing step and convert these material ointo small peaces. and then go to the cellulose steps it is very complicated step of biofuelproduction.and after this go to processing step. and processing take some time and go to the sugars and make it into partical. and the last step is microbes added and the ethanol is ready

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the subject as ethanol production and mention several relevant stages, including plant growth, harvesting, pre-processing, cellulose, processing, sugars and microbes. However, the overview is inaccurate: the process does not end with microbes being added; ethanol is produced after this, and the diagram also shows its use in transport and carbon dioxide returning to support plant growth. Important links and the circular nature of the process are therefore omitted, while details such as farming the land and making small pieces are not clearly supported by the diagram. The response addresses the task only partially and leaves the main cycle unclear. It is also 11 words below the required minimum. To improve, report the full sequence and include the transport and carbon-dioxide loop.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, with an opening, an overview and a paragraph describing stages in sequence. Words such as “firstly,” “and then” and “after this” help signal order. However, progression is not consistently clear: the overview says the process ends with microbes, while the final sentence says ethanol is ready, and the transport and carbon-dioxide stages are not connected to the account. Several sentences are joined repeatedly with “and,” making the description feel like a list rather than a controlled explanation. Use separate paragraphs for the overview and process details, and connect each stage with precise sequencing language such as “following this” and “once the sugars are formed.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant process vocabulary, including “harvesting,” “cellulose,” “processing,” “sugars” and “ethanol,” so the reader can recognise the general topic. However, the range is limited and several choices or forms are inaccurate, which sometimes makes the meaning difficult to follow. For example, “microbesadded,” “ethanolproduce,” “haversting” and “partical” contain spelling or word-form problems, while “the farmer using tractor to farming the land” is an imprecise description of the diagram. Some phrases, such as “very complicated step,” are vague rather than informative. Aim for accurate process terms and concise collocations, for example, “the material is pre-processed” and “microbes are added to the sugars.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt to describe a sequence using both short statements and linked clauses, but grammatical control is weak and errors frequently obscure relationships between stages. Examples include “The diagram illustrates, information,” “the biofuel production has 10 steps,” and “the energy … that are effect on the plants,” where sentence structure, agreement and verb forms are faulty. The overview also contains an incomplete and unclear construction: “it starts from … to last microbesadded and then ethanolproduce.” Most sentences rely on simple clauses joined by “and,” and punctuation and capitalisation are inconsistent. Practise forming complete subject–verb sentences in the passive, which suits process descriptions: “The harvested material is pre-processed, producing cellulose.”

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