Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-25
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)
This process outlines the the production of electricity from geothermal power plant.This process begins with the flow of cold water and ends with the transmission of electricity to the national grid.
In general,the cold water is stored in a container and pumped down to a depth of approximately 4.5 km through an injection well.The water subsequently passed through geothermal zone where it is heated by the surrounding hot rocks.In the next step the heated water pump back to the surface through a production well.It is then transferred to the condenser .In condenser, water is converted into steam which is used to run turbines .The last step is generator and turbine where steam is used to operate turbine and consequently with the help of rotating turbine electricity is produced .
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 student successfully identifies the main stages of the geothermal energy production process, beginning with cold water and ending with electricity generation. Key features, such as the 4.5 km depth of the injection well, the geothermal zone, the production well, the condenser, the turbine, and the generator, are all reported. An overview is present at the beginning of the text, capturing the core stages of the process well. However, because the response is only 129 words long, it fails to meet the minimum word requirement of 150 words. This under-length impacts task completion, meaning the response cannot achieve a higher band score despite covering the essential features adequately.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text presents a clear logical progression that follows the physical steps of the diagram accurately. Cohesive devices such as 'In general', 'subsequently', 'In the next step', and 'It is then' are used to guide the reader through the process. However, paragraphing is underdeveloped; the entire body of the report is compressed into a single bulky paragraph following the introduction, which detracts from the overall structural organisation. Furthermore, referencing is occasionally imprecise, such as referring to the turbine and generator step as 'The last step is generator and turbine where...'. With better paragraphing and more sophisticated transitions, a higher score would be warranted.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is generally adequate for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms like 'geothermal power plant', 'injection well', 'geothermal zone', 'condenser', 'turbine', and 'generator'. However, the range remains somewhat limited and repetitive, with frequent reliance on basic verbs such as 'is', 'pumped', and 'used'. There are also occasional lexical and mechanical errors, such as the repeated article in 'the the production' and missing spaces after punctuation marks throughout the text (e.g., 'general,the cold'). These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band level.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and prepositional phrases (e.g., 'water is converted into steam which is used to run turbines'). However, there are noticeable grammatical errors throughout the text, particularly concerning verb forms and voice. For instance, the writer states 'the water subsequently passed through' (tense inconsistency) and 'the heated water pump back' (missing passive auxiliary 'is' and participle ending). Punctuation and spacing errors are also frequent. These errors cause some distraction for the reader, limiting the score to a solid Band 6.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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