Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-13

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows how geothermal energy is used to produce electricity.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 6.0)

The illustration below describes how geothermal energy is consumed in production of electricity.

The process of producing electricity from geothermal energy consists of 5 total steps starting from pumping cold water down and using the hot rocks to pump hot water up and generating electricity by steam of it.

The cold water stored above the ground is pumped down exactly 4.5 km under the ground, and with the well injection, and the hot rocks, also known as geothermal zone, pumps up the hot water at the other side, under the condenser by the well production.

Above the ground, condenser turns the hot water pumped up from under the ground turns into a steam in large tank of condenser. Then, the steam produced tansfer through the narrow space to powers up the turbine and hinders it to spin. Therefore, at the end of the production, the spinning turbine powers up the generator which generates electricity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You cover the main sequence from pumping cold water underground to generating electricity, and the 4.5 km depth and geothermal zone are accurately reported. The final stages—steam driving a turbine and the turbine powering a generator—are also included. This gives the reader a relevant account of the process. However, the overview is not fully clear: “5 total steps” does not explain the overall transformation, and the description of the condenser is inaccurate because it is presented as turning hot water into steam in a tank, rather than simply identifying the stage where steam is produced. Some details, such as the water passing through the hot-rock zone between the wells, are compressed or unclear. A sharper overview and more precise stage descriptions would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The stages are presented in a broadly logical order, moving from the underground wells to the equipment above ground, and phrases such as “Then” and “Therefore” help signal progression. The response is also arranged as a short introduction followed by process details. However, the ideas are packed into long sentences, so relationships between stages are sometimes difficult to follow. For example, the sentence beginning “The cold water stored above the ground” combines the depth, injection well, hot rocks, production well and condenser without clear boundaries. The repeated use of “the process” and “the hot water” also makes the flow somewhat mechanical. Separate the stages into clearer sentences and use references such as “this heated water” where the meaning is unambiguous.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “geothermal zone,” “condenser,” “turbine,” and “generator,” which allows you to identify the main components. Some less common wording is attempted, but several choices are inaccurate or unnatural: “consumed in production” does not express the intended idea, “hinders it to spin” reverses the meaning, and “narrow space” is not a natural description of the pipe. There are also spelling errors, including “tansfer,” and repetition of “pumped up” and “powers up.” These do not prevent the reader from understanding the general process, but they reduce precision. Prefer standard process collocations such as “is used to generate,” “flows through a pipe,” and “drives the turbine.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms, including clauses linked with “and” and “which,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, some grammatical errors make individual stages harder to interpret. In “the hot rocks … pumps up the hot water,” the subject and verb do not agree, and the rocks are incorrectly made the agent of pumping. The sentence about the condenser also repeats the verb structure (“turns … turns into”), while “to powers up” uses an incorrect verb form. Articles and sentence boundaries need attention as well, particularly in the long second process sentence. Aim for shorter, controlled sentences and check agreement and verb forms; this would improve accuracy while retaining your attempts at complex structures.

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