Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-18
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 given diagram represent the picture of geothermal power plant which showed the process of how electricty is generated by consuming geothermal energy.
As is observed, the water is used to produce steam for moving turbin, as a result generator make electricity.
As is presented in the diagram, cold water pumped down about 4.5km to the injection well. When water reached at the bottom then it moved right and passed through Geothermal zone which consist of hot rocks to give high temperature to water. After passing hot rcoks water move towards the production well.
The purpose of production well is to pumped up the hot water towards condenser. In condenser, steam was by using hot water that was pumped by the production well. Futhermore, steam provide power to turbine in its circulation. In the last, turbine provides power to generator to produce electricity. this electricity is transferred to power grills.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0
The response covers the main stages of the geothermal energy production process, from pumping cold water down to 4.5 km, passing through hot rocks, bringing hot water up via the production well, generating steam in the condenser, driving the turbine, and finally producing electricity. Key details such as the 4.5 km depth and the interaction with the geothermal zone are successfully reported. However, the overview is extremely brief and integrated into the first sentence rather than presented as a distinct summary. While the core features are identified, the progression lacks a comprehensive concluding summary or higher-level synthesis. It satisfies the task requirements by covering the process adequately, meriting a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response has a coherent overall arrangement that follows the chronological sequence of the diagram. Cohesive devices are used to link stages, such as 'As is observed', 'When water reached at the bottom', 'After passing hot rcoks', and 'In the last'. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped; the entire body of the response is clumped into two short blocks, and the second paragraph is overly dense with sequential steps strung together. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as 'this electricity is transferred to power grills'. Cohesion is sometimes mechanical, placing this criterion at Band 6.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating process-specific terms from the diagram such as 'geothermal power plant', 'injection well', 'Geothermal zone', 'hot rocks', 'production well', 'condenser', 'turbine', and 'generator'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling inaccuracies, such as 'represent' instead of 'represents', 'electricty' instead of 'electricity', 'turbin' instead of 'turbine', 'rcoks' instead of 'rocks', 'pumped' instead of 'pump', and 'power grills' instead of 'power grid'. Attempts at less common vocabulary are limited, resulting in a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as relative and adverbial clauses ('how electricty is generated by consuming geothermal energy', 'When water reached at the bottom then it moved right'). However, grammatical accuracy is weak with numerous basic errors, including subject-verb agreement issues ('the given diagram represent', 'steam was by using'), missing articles ('in condenser', 'to turbine'), and awkward tense shifts ('when water reached at the bottom then it moved right and passed... to give'). Because errors are frequent and occasionally cause minor strain for the reader, a Band 5.0 is appropriate.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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