Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-08

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 6.5)

The diagram illustrates the steps involved in producing electricity by means of geothermal energy.

Overall, the process included five main steps. It begins with the cold water being pumped underground. The water becomes hot when comes in contact with the bed rocks in geothermal zone. The hot water is pumped back to the ground level where it is condensed to produce steam. It is then used to power generators to produce electricity.

In the first stage, hot water is pumped down to a depth of 4.5 km by means of injection well. When the water comes in contact with geothermal zone, it gets warm as hot rocks transfers heats. The hot water is pumped back onto ground surface through the production well. Once on the surface the water gets into condensors where it is turned into steam. This steam is used to spin the turbine in the next stage which is connected to a generator which converts mechanical energy into electricity. Finally the electricity produced is transferred to transformers which distributes the electricity to consumers.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response identifies the main stages and gives a clear overall account, including the underground heating process and the conversion of steam into electricity. The 4.5 km depth is also reported accurately. However, some details are less fully or accurately presented: the opening says cold water is pumped down, but the first stage later calls it “hot water,” and the diagram shows the water passing through hot rocks before it is pumped back up. The final claim that electricity is transferred to “transformers” and then to consumers is not shown; the diagram instead depicts a connection to a transmission pylon. To strengthen the summary, keep the sequence precise and restrict details to those visible in the diagram.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a coherent overall arrangement: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing the stages in sequence. Transitions such as “Overall,” “In the first stage,” “Once on the surface,” and “Finally” help the reader follow the process. The progression is generally clear, although the overview says there are five steps and the later account does not consistently distinguish the stages, particularly around the condenser, steam, turbine, and generator. The repeated use of “which” in the final sentence also makes the relationship between the turbine and generator less direct. Use clearer sentence boundaries and refer to each component in sequence to make the links less mechanical and more precise.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.5

There is an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “geothermal zone,” “injection well,” “production well,” “condensed,” and “turbine.” These terms suit the topic and allow the main process to be understood. Some choices are imprecise or awkward, however: “bed rocks” is not a natural description of the hot rocks, “transfers heats” is an inaccurate collocation, and “condensors” is misspelled. “Power generators” is also less precise than describing steam as driving a turbine, which in turn drives the generator. Greater control of technical collocations and spelling would make the description more exact and fluent, while retaining the useful range already demonstrated.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex forms, including time and relative clauses such as “When the water comes in contact…” and “which is connected to a generator.” Most sentences communicate the process clearly. Some grammatical errors remain: “when comes in contact” needs a subject (“when it comes in contact”), “hot rocks transfers” has subject–verb disagreement, and “which distributes” should agree with the plural “transformers.” There are also article and preposition problems in phrases such as “by means of injection well” and “onto ground surface.” These errors rarely prevent understanding, but checking subjects, articles, and sentence links would improve accuracy and control.

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