Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · 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 4.5)

the diagram illustrates how the geothermal energy is used to produce electricity.

overall ,as we see , there is a five levels of how thr geothermal energy is used to get electricity begining with first level and ends with the fivth one.

the process commences with the first level where the cold water pumped down the injection well passing by the geothermal zone where the water got hot by the hot rocks getting into the production well so the hot water pumped up the condenser.

next phase involves that hot water once he got into the condenser ,the turbine powered by the steam and then the generator powered by turbine and produces electricity and that's how the geothermal power plant and we got the electricity by these levels once we follow thoese steps , we produce the energy of electricity , and have the benefit of it in our world

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The student attempts to summarise the process diagram detailing how geothermal energy is used to produce electricity. An overview is provided, stating that there are five levels or stages, and key steps such as pumping cold water down the injection well, passing through the geothermal zone, and generating electricity via a turbine are mentioned. However, the response falls short in several areas. The depth of 4.5 km is omitted, and the description of the stages becomes increasingly vague and repetitive towards the end (e.g. 'that's how the geothermal power plant and we got the electricity'). Furthermore, the summary lacks a clear, well-structured breakdown of the steps, leading to an under-developed presentation of the visual data. Consequently, it partially addresses the task requirements.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.5

The text is written as one dense paragraph following the introduction, making the overall structure difficult to follow. Cohesive devices are minimal and used mechanically (e.g. 'overall', 'begining', 'next phase'). Pronoun referencing is also frequently imprecise or confusing, such as in the final run-on sentence ('once he got into the condenser... and we got the electricity by these levels once we follow thoese steps'). There is no clear logical progression or paragraphing to separate the stages of the plant's operation, resulting in an overall lack of cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, relying heavily on terms lifted directly from the prompt such as 'geothermal energy', 'electricity', 'cold water', 'injection well', 'geothermal zone', and 'turbine'. There are numerous spelling errors throughout the text, including 'begining', 'fivth', 'thoese', and grammatical word-choice errors like 'how the geothermal energy is used to get electricity'. The range of vocabulary is limited and minimally adequate for conveying the basic topic, but frequent inaccuracies restrict the score to Band 4.5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.0

The response features a very limited range of grammatical structures, consisting mainly of long, poorly controlled run-on sentences joined by conjunctions. The text lacks proper punctuation, particularly periods and commas, culminating in a massive 65-word final sentence that is grammatically incoherent. Frequent structural errors, such as missing verbs ('where the water got hot by the hot rocks getting into...') and incorrect clauses, cause considerable difficulty for the reader and obscure the meaning.

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