Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-15
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 5.5)
The diagram illustrates how electricity is generated in geothermal power plant.
Overall, the process consists of five main steps in geothermal power plant, starting from pumping cold water down and ending by generating electricity using geothermal energy.
Initially, the cold water stored on the ground, which is then pumped down deep to around 4.5 kilometers underground to the injection well, after which the water is passed through the geothermal zone where there rocks are at very high temperature. The hot rocks converts the cold water into hot water, and later stored in the production well.
The hot water is then pumped back to ground level, directly into the condenser, where water gets converted into steam. The steam produced passes through the narrow path to reaches the turbine and rotate it, the rotation of turbine through steam will power the generator which is when the electricity is generated and stored in the towers.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main stages of the geothermal process, from the injection of water to the generation of electricity. However, the description is somewhat mechanical and lacks a clear overview of the system's cyclical nature. While the key features are identified, the explanation of the 'condenser' stage is technically inaccurate based on the provided diagram, as the diagram shows the hot water passing through a heat exchanger/condenser to create steam, rather than the water itself being converted into steam inside the condenser. The summary is functional but lacks the analytical depth required for a higher band.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs. The progression of ideas is generally clear, following the sequence of the diagram. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat repetitive, relying heavily on 'then' and 'after which'. There are also some minor issues with referencing and sentence flow, such as the run-on sentence in the final paragraph: '...rotate it, the rotation of turbine through steam will power the generator which is when the electricity is generated...'. Better use of punctuation and varied linking words would improve the flow.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task, using technical terms like 'geothermal zone', 'injection well', and 'turbine'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'stored on the ground' (which is imprecise) and 'there rocks' (a grammatical error affecting lexical clarity). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited, and the phrasing is occasionally awkward, such as 'ending by generating electricity'. To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise terminology and a wider range of descriptive verbs and nouns to explain the process.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors that occur throughout the text, such as 'in geothermal power plant' (missing article), 'there rocks are' (incorrect pronoun usage), and 'to reaches the turbine' (incorrect verb form). Additionally, there are issues with subject-verb agreement, such as 'The hot rocks converts'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the process, they are frequent enough to limit the score. Increasing the variety of error-free complex structures and proofreading for basic subject-verb agreement would significantly improve your score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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