Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 19 · 2026-10-27

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 presents how a biofuel called ethanol is produced. Biofuel production is eight stages.

Overall, the starting step is plants and trees grow with the help of sunlight and carbon dioxide and the last step is vehicles that produced carbion dixide. It is recycling diagram.

To begin with, plants and trees grow that observe sunlight and carbon dioxide. After that it harvesting with the help of tractor and it move to pre-processing stage it convert to a small pecies with the help of machine. After the pre-processing stage it transfer to cellulose and there it working and after that it move to labortory where it process.

After the processing it create sugars with a different shape and added microbes after added microbes it create ethanol and it uses a different kind of vehicles such as car . After that these vehicles produced carbon dioxide and it goes up hill and add to air.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the subject and give a basic overview of the cycle, noting that plants use sunlight and carbon dioxide and that vehicles release carbon dioxide. You also report several central stages, including harvesting, pre-processing, cellulose, processing, sugars, microbes and ethanol. However, the account is only partly complete: the three transport types are reduced to vehicles, and the final carbon dioxide return to the plants is described vaguely as going “up hill” and “add to air.” Some details, such as material becoming “small pecies” and processing in a “labortory,” are not clearly supported by the diagram. To strengthen the response, describe the sequence more precisely and explain the cycle’s return of carbon dioxide to plant growth.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview and a chronological description of the stages. Sequencing phrases such as “To begin with,” “After that” and “After the processing” help the reader follow the process. However, several stages are crowded into long sentences, especially the harvesting-to-processing section, so the relationships between steps are not always clear. References such as “it” are also ambiguous because they may refer to the material, the stage or the process. The overview’s “last step” is not clearly reconciled with the cycle returning carbon dioxide to the plants. Use shorter, clearly separated stage descriptions and explicit links to make the progression easier to follow.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “harvesting,” “pre-processing,” “cellulose,” “sugars,” “microbes” and “ethanol,” which allows you to cover the main stages. However, the range is limited and several word choices or spellings reduce precision: “observe sunlight” is not the intended meaning, “small pecies” is unclear, and “it working” does not describe the material’s transformation accurately. “Vehicles” is also less specific than the diagram’s car, truck and aeroplane. Spelling errors such as “carbion dixide” and “labortory” are noticeable. Build a more accurate process vocabulary and check spelling, especially for key technical terms, so the description is clear and appropriately precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt to connect stages in longer sentences, but control is uneven, and many sentences contain errors in verb forms, agreement or sentence construction. For example, “Biofuel production is eight stages” needs a different grammatical structure, while “After that it harvesting” omits the required verb form. In “it move to pre-processing stage it convert,” the verbs do not agree with the subject and the clauses run together. The final sentence, “it goes up hill and add to air,” also has unclear agreement and structure. Most sentences rely on simple patterns, with complex sequences often becoming faulty. Practise accurate passive forms for process descriptions and divide linked stages into complete sentences with correct verb forms and punctuation.

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