The diagram below shows the product life-cycle of the car.
Sample Response
The diagram describes the life cycle of a car, starting with the miningstarting with mining of raw materials and ending with scrapping of unrecyclable parts.
It is clear that recycling materials and parts plays a central rolerecycling of materials and parts plays a big role in the process.
The starting pointplace of the cycle is the mining of the raw materials, which are then used to manufacture car components or delivered straight to the factory. Delivery to the factory then leadsThis then leads to the cars being manufactured and in turn sold, usually through dealerships, and used. DeleteIt is stated that on average, a car has about three owners, and during the car’s use, the car gets serviced and repaired.
Once the cars have been used until they reach the end of their useful livesused up to their capacity Deleteand they do not work properly anymore, then they are sold for scrap. If the still functioning or reusable parts and materials can be recycled, they can either be formed into components again, or delivered back to a factory for re-use. The life cycle of the car then begins again. All the parts that cannot be recycled are scrapped and this constitutes the end of a car’s lifeend of car’s life.
Why this response received Band 9.0
The response gives a comprehensive, logically sequenced account of the car’s life cycle and clearly highlights recycling as the central cyclical feature. The only meaningful limitation is occasional awkward phrasing, particularly around a car being “used up to its capacity.” Prioritising more natural process collocations and a few article refinements would make an already highly accurate description fully polished.
IELTS Writing Criteria Scores
Task Achievement
All major stages, branches, feedback loops, and the final disposal of unrecyclable parts are accurately and comprehensively described.
Retain this complete coverage while continuing to distinguish the recycling loop clearly from the terminal disposal stage.
Coherence and Cohesion
The description moves coherently from raw-material extraction through manufacture and use to recycling or disposal, with clear paragraphing.
Make the transition into the post-use stage even more concise by avoiding repeated sequencing words such as “then.”
Lexical Resource
The response uses a strong range of precise process vocabulary, though a few expressions are less natural than the surrounding language.
Replace “used up to their capacity” with a more idiomatic phrase such as “reached the end of their usable life.”
Grammatical Range and Accuracy
Complex passive and relative-clause structures are handled with strong control, with only minor article and phrasing slips.
Check article use in phrases such as “the mining of raw materials” and “the end of a car’s life.”
Write this task while it is fresh
Try the same task now. It helps you remember the feedback and write better next time.
IELTS Academic Writing Task 1
The diagram below shows the product life-cycle of the car.
Your response
Write the task yourself, then compare your choices with the annotated response.