Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-08-28
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 Geothermal power plant mainly consists of 5 procedure that leads to the electricity generation. Firstly, the cold water is pumped down into the injection well which is around 4.5km deep then this cold water make a contact with geothermal rocks that are extremely hot.In comparison with step 1and 2 the step 3&4 is the pumping of hot water from them Production well and then condensing this water in to steam. Through this Steam the heavy Turbines rotates and make the Generator to Produce Charges(electricity).The Whole Geothermal power Plant mainly depends on the Injection well depth because the deep the injection well would be the more the pumping water would be hot and which ultimately leads to the generation of more Steam that means the turbines rotate the generator effectively which would result in the Production of Electricity. The other minor concept is the Turbine and generator the turbine moves with the help of steam and the generator moves with the movement of turbine there is a Gear system in between of them.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The response covers the main stages of the geothermal process, but the presentation is somewhat informal and lacks a clear overview. While the key steps are identified, the description of the process is slightly disjointed. The inclusion of personal commentary about the 'minor concept' of the turbine and generator is unnecessary and detracts from the objective tone required for an Academic Task 1 report. Furthermore, the explanation of the relationship between well depth and electricity production is speculative rather than a summary of the provided diagram. To improve, ensure you provide a clear, concise overview of the entire process in the introduction and maintain a formal, descriptive tone throughout.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is written as a single block of text, which significantly hinders readability and logical progression. Paragraphing is essential in IELTS writing to separate the introduction, overview, and detailed body stages. While some cohesive devices are used (e.g., 'Firstly', 'In comparison with'), the flow is often interrupted by awkward phrasing and run-on sentences. The lack of clear paragraph breaks makes the information feel cluttered. To achieve a higher band, you must organize your response into distinct paragraphs—ideally an introduction, a clear overview of the process, and one or two paragraphs detailing the specific stages shown in the diagram.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is generally adequate to convey the basic meaning, but it lacks the precision and academic tone expected for this task. There are several instances of awkward word choices, such as '5 procedure' (should be 'five stages' or 'five steps') and 'make a contact' (should be 'comes into contact'). Additionally, the use of 'Produce Charges(electricity)' is imprecise. The vocabulary is somewhat repetitive, and the phrasing often feels like a direct translation rather than a natural description of a technical process. Expanding your range of process-related verbs and nouns would help improve your score.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The response contains frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow of information. Issues include subject-verb agreement ('this cold water make a contact'), incorrect pluralization ('5 procedure'), and awkward sentence structures ('the deep the injection well would be the more the pumping water would be hot'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after periods and unnecessary capitalization (e.g., 'Steam', 'Turbines', 'Generator'). While the meaning is generally understandable, the high frequency of errors in basic sentence construction prevents the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on sentence structure and proofreading for basic errors is essential.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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