Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-10-10

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 diagram illsuatrates process of producing electricity through geothermal energy.

The whole process consist of 5 steps.

Looking at the details, in first step the cold water store in the tank and then cold water pumped down around 4.5 km. The second step is the injection well; water inject and transfer through the geothermal zone where hot rocks rise the water temperature. Meanwhile, hot water move toward production well, in this step hot water pumped up into condenser. Furthermore, in condenser the hot water condense and coverted into steam. This steam then move forward to essential step generator turbine. In this step a turbine powered by steam, while, turbine connected to the generator. Generator is powered by turbine and it produces the electricity, in addtion, electricity transfers to the electric pole and then desemenate to whole city.

Overall, the whole process consist 5 steps, the first step is cold water and then water inject into geothermal zone, thereafter the hot water move into condenser and then most crucial step is generator tubine where the electricity produce.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response6.0
Coherence and Cohesion5.5
Lexical Resource5.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy5.0
Overall5.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the diagram as a process for generating electricity from geothermal energy and describe the main sequence: cold water is sent underground, heated by hot rocks, brought back up, and used to produce steam that powers machinery. The 4.5 km depth is also reported accurately. However, some stages are confused or unclear: the injection well is the route for water going down, not a separate second step, and the condenser converts hot water into steam rather than condensing it. The overview repeats the sequence but does not clearly summarise the key transformation from cold water to electricity. The final claim that electricity is distributed “to whole city” is not shown; the diagram only indicates transmission lines. More precise coverage of the stages would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has an identifiable opening, a paragraph describing the process, and a concluding overview, so the reader can follow the broad sequence. Connectors such as “then,” “meanwhile,” and “furthermore” help signal movement between stages. However, the sequence is not consistently clear: “The second step is the injection well” is followed by water movement through the geothermal zone, while the production well and condenser are then compressed into one sentence. The overview largely repeats earlier details rather than providing a distinct summary. Some transitions, including “Meanwhile” and “Furthermore,” do not clearly express the relationship between the stages. Grouping the description into underground heating and surface electricity generation, with clearer references to each component, would improve progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “geothermal zone,” “injection well,” “production well,” “condenser,” “turbine,” and “generator,” which allows you to cover the diagram’s main components. There are also attempts at more formal sequencing language, such as “thereafter” and “crucial.” However, several word-choice and spelling errors make parts of the description less clear: “hot water condense” misrepresents the condenser’s function, while “desemenate” and “illsuatrates” are misspelled. Phrases such as “essential step generator turbine” and “electric pole” are imprecise or unnatural. Aim for accurate process collocations and check spelling; for example, describe steam as driving the turbine and the generator as producing electricity.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, including a sequence of clauses linked with “while” and “and,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, errors in verb forms and agreement occur in several sentences: “The whole process consist” should be “consists,” “water inject” needs a passive form such as “is injected,” and “hot water move” should be “hot water moves.” Articles and sentence construction are also inconsistent, as in “in first step” and “a turbine powered by steam.” Some long sentences join several stages without clear punctuation, making relationships harder to follow. Use consistent present-simple passive forms for the process and check subject–verb agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries.

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