Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-14
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 diagram shows that how geothermal energy is used to produce electricity. There are five steps to geothermal energy to produce electricity. Cold water, The injection well, The production well, condenser, and last Generator Turbine.
The first step Geothermal power plant to produce electricity is cold water. The cold water under ground 4.5km and the cold water pumped down to the injection well.
The second step is injection well and pump to the the Geothermal zone hot rocks and to the production well.
The third step production well hot water pumped up to the Condenser.
The fourth step condenser produce smoke the smoke passed to the steam and into the Turbine the powered of steam and next passed into the Generator powered by turbine and produces electricity.
In this process we produce electricity by the Geothermal power plant and the electricity run into the wire to use our homes in our daily life.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 4.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 4.0 |
| Overall | 4.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The student attempts to describe the main steps in the geothermal energy process, mentioning cold water, the injection well, the production well, the condenser, and the turbine/generator. However, the summary lacks clear selection and reporting of the overall process. The response is heavily reliant on lifting labels directly from the diagram rather than synthesizing the information into a cohesive overview. While all parts of the process are touched upon superficially, the ideas remain heavily under-developed and lack the analytical comparisons or clear grouping expected at higher bands. Because the content is somewhat disjointed and merely lists diagram features sequentially in broken fragments, it aligns best with a Band 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is structured into very short, disjointed paragraphs that fail to establish a clear logical progression. Cohesive devices are either missing or misused, resulting in a repetitive and mechanical flow. For instance, sentences are strung together using basic connectors like 'The first step', 'The second step', and 'The third step', but the underlying referencing is frequently unclear, such as 'The second step is injection well and pump to the the Geothermal zone hot rocks'. There is a lack of smooth transitions between stages, which disrupts the readability of the text. Overall, the organisation is basic and lacks overall progression, fitting the descriptors for Band 4.5 to 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 4.5
The vocabulary used is extremely limited and heavily reliant on direct copying from the prompt and diagram labels, such as 'cold water', 'injection well', 'production well', 'condenser', and 'Generator Turbine'. There is little evidence of less common lexical items or paraphrasing. Furthermore, word choice and collocations are awkward, as seen in phrases like 'produce smoke the smoke passed to the steam'. Errors in word formation and spelling are noticeable and occasionally cause difficulty for the reader in understanding the precise mechanical process being described. This performance demonstrates a basic lexical range consistent with a Band 4.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0
The response displays a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying heavily on simple sentences or fragmented clauses that break down mid-thought, such as 'The diagram shows that how geothermal energy is used to produce electricity.' There are frequent, severe grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing verbs, incorrect prepositions, and faulty subject-verb agreement (e.g., 'The cold water under ground 4.5km and the cold water pumped down', 'the electricity run into the wire to use our homes'). Complex sentence attempts are consistently faulty. These frequent errors frequently strain meaning and cause difficulty for the reader, anchoring the grammar score firmly at Band 4.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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