Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-12
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 4.5)
The process diagram illustrate about what way geothermal energy is used to manufacture electricity.
Overall, it can be clearly seen that it is some type of complicated process. The process of making electricity has five steps, starts with storage cold water and ends with making electricity arrived generator. This process is man made.
To initiate with down to earth thought to pumped it's lenth is 4.5km. After that it's water riched to the injection well point . and this water passed geothermal zone (hot rocks) and arrived to point of the production well. Water convreted cold to hot. After that, this water down to earth by pumped. and water convreted to steam form by condenser . After that that steam passed to turbine this is last step. at that time turbine rotted power by steam and produce electricity thought to generator.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.5 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.5
The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the score. While the student identifies the main stages of the geothermal process, the description is often inaccurate or confusing. For example, the claim that the process is 'man made' is irrelevant, and the description of the water turning into steam via a 'condenser' is technically incorrect based on the diagram provided. The summary lacks a clear overview of the key features, and the explanation of the cycle is fragmented and lacks the necessary detail to fully explain the process. Because the response is under-length and contains factual inaccuracies in the description of the process, it falls into the lower band range.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organized into paragraphs, but the logical flow is weak. The use of cohesive devices is mechanical and often misused, such as 'To initiate with down to earth thought' and 'After that that steam'. The referencing is frequently unclear, making it difficult for the reader to follow the sequence of the process. The transition between the steps is disjointed, and the lack of clear logical progression between the stages of the diagram hinders the overall coherence of the report.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
The vocabulary is very limited and often inappropriate for an academic report. There are frequent errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'manufacture electricity' instead of 'generate electricity', 'storage cold water', and 'water riched'. The student struggles to use technical terms accurately, and the phrasing is often non-standard, which impedes the clarity of the message. To improve, the student needs to focus on learning topic-specific vocabulary related to energy production and improving their grasp of basic academic collocations.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.5
The grammatical control is poor, with frequent errors that often obscure meaning. There are consistent issues with subject-verb agreement ('diagram illustrate'), tense usage, and sentence structure. Many sentences are fragmented or ungrammatical, such as 'at that time turbine rotted power by steam and produce electricity thought to generator.' The range of structures is very limited, relying on simple, often incorrect, sentence patterns. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with misplaced periods and capitalization errors throughout the text.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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