Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-09-27
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 following diagram illustrated the steps how geothermal enegry can makes electricity.There are total five steps of producing electricity. Firstly, cold water pumped into the injected well.The next step after injection well is production well.Production well leads to condenser ehich convert water into steam. Furthermore, after condenser the next step is turbine which produces electricity. Overall, the procedure is divided into 5 main steps which are related to each other.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 4.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0
The response is severely under-length, containing only 70 words against the required 150-word minimum. Because of this, it can only address the task partially. While the student attempts to outline the main steps of the geothermal energy process, such as cold water being pumped into the injection well and moving through to the production well, condenser, and turbine, the description is extremely brief and omits critical details and comparisons present in the diagram, such as the 4.5 km depth and the role of the generator. Consequently, the score is capped at Band 4.0 due to the significant under-length penalty.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The text exhibits basic logical organisation and attempts to sequence the steps chronologically using transitional words like 'Firstly', 'The next step', and 'Furthermore'. However, the paragraphing is poor, with the entire response crammed into a single block of text. Cohesive devices are somewhat repetitive and mechanical, and referencing is occasionally unclear (e.g., 'the next step after injection well is production well'). Overall arrangement shows some basic structural awareness, but cohesion is faulty, supporting a Band 5.0 score.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is basic and repetitive, with frequent reliance on simple terms like 'steps', 'water', and 'turbine'. There are noticeable vocabulary and spelling errors, such as 'illustrated' instead of 'illustrates', 'enegry', 'makes electricity', and 'ehich' instead of 'which'. The lexical range is narrow and minimally adequate for the topic, allowing the general meaning to be conveyed but causing some difficulty due to inaccuracies. This aligns with the Band 5.0 descriptors.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The response demonstrates a very limited range of sentence structures, consisting mostly of simple and awkwardly constructed sentences. There are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles and prepositions ('cold water pumped into the injected well' instead of 'cold water is pumped into the injection well'), tense inconsistencies ('illustrated' versus present tense verbs), and awkward passive constructions. These frequent errors occasionally impede smooth communication, placing the grammar at Band 4.5, rounded to 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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