Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-13

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 5.0)

The process chart illustrates how electricity is produced by using geothermal energy.

Taking a general overview, it is evident that there are five steps which contribute to producing electricity. The process starts with cold water digging in the earth and ends with generator, who introduced electricity.

It is clearly seen that firstly cold water is pumped down 4.5km into earth. Before the production well, the injection well is combined with geothermal zone. After that there cold water is converted into hot water and pumped up.

Moving towards the rest of the information, when Hot water is pumped up ,there is a step of condenser. Which leads steam. This steam is transferred into turbine. and combined with generator. Once steam is connected with generator, electricity is produced and supplied into tower.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to summarise the diagram showing how geothermal energy produces electricity, identifying several main steps such as pumping cold water, the geothermal zone, the condenser, and the turbine. However, the task achievement is hindered by two main factors. First, the response is under-length, containing only 130 words compared to the minimum requirement of 150 words. Second, the explanation of the process contains inaccuracies and confusing descriptions, such as stating that 'cold water digging in the earth' is the starting point and referring to the generator as 'who introduced electricity'. While some key features are reported, the lack of complete coverage and precision means the score is limited.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is organized into basic paragraphs, attempting an overview and subsequent steps. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward referencing and mechanical cohesive devices. Phrases like 'Taking a general overview, it is evident' and 'Moving towards the rest of the information' are used, but the internal flow of sentences is often disjointed. For instance, 'Which leads steam' is written as a sentence fragment, and the transitions between the production well, injection well, condenser, and turbine lack smooth connection, making it difficult to follow the sequential stages of the process clearly.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, frequently relying on simple terms like 'cold water', 'hot water', and 'electricity'. There are also noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'cold water digging in the earth' instead of drilling or pumping, and referring to the generator as 'who introduced electricity' rather than 'which generates electricity'. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey a general idea of the process, these inaccuracies and the limited range prevent the score from reaching higher bands.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors and punctuation issues, such as missing articles, incorrect prepositions ('pumped down 4.5km into earth'), and sentence fragments ('Which leads steam.'). Additionally, run-on structures and awkward phrasing ('After that there cold water is converted') reduce the accuracy. While basic meaning is usually retrievable, the high frequency of errors across the text impacts readability and places the performance in the lower bands.

See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.

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