Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 12 · 2026-11-01

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 diagram illustrates how geothermal energy is used to generate electricity.

Overall, the process involves pumping cold water underground, heating it through geothermal energy, and converting it into steam, which drives a turbine connected to a generator to produce electricity.

First, they pour the cold water into the special made pot and the poured cold water pumped down to 4.5km long underground hole to reach Geothermal zone where the hot rocks are. Then after the water throughout the injection well and hot rocks they straight goes to the production well.

Second, They retrieve the water that has been heated by rocks into the condenser in order to turn the hot water into steam. After that the turbine will be powered by steam. At last they use steam as a fuel to generator. So that they turned cold water into power to a geothermal power plant.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

You identify the main sequence and give a useful overview: cold water is pumped underground, heated by hot rocks, and ultimately used to generate electricity. However, the description is only partial and some stages are unclear or inaccurate. For example, the water does not enter a “pot”; it is pumped down an injection well, passes through the geothermal zone, and rises through a separate production well. The account also does not clearly explain that steam powers the turbine and the turbine drives the generator, instead saying steam is used “as a fuel to generator.” The response is 145 words, below the required minimum of 150. Add a little more precise detail about the wells and the turbine-generator connection to cover the process more fully.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a description of the stages. “First,” “Second,” “After that,” and “At last” help signal sequence, so the reader can follow the broad process. However, the progression is not consistently clear. The first stage combines pumping, heating, and movement between wells in a sentence that is difficult to follow, and “Then after the water throughout the injection well and hot rocks they straight goes…” obscures the order of events. The final sentences also repeat the idea of using steam without clearly linking each component. Use one paragraph for the underground stages and another for steam, the turbine, and the generator, with clear references to each part.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “geothermal zone,” “injection well,” “production well,” “condenser,” “turbine,” and “generator.” This gives the response a basic range suited to the diagram. However, several word choices and collocations are inaccurate or informal, which sometimes makes the process difficult to understand. “Special made pot” does not describe the cold-water tank, “retrieve the water” is not the natural term for water rising through a well, and “steam as a fuel to generator” misrepresents how the components operate. Aim for precise technical verbs such as “pump,” “heat,” “rise,” “convert,” and “drive,” and use the diagram’s labels consistently. Avoid conversational phrasing such as “they pour” when describing a process.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and longer sentences, and the overview sentence communicates the main stages reasonably clearly. However, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently in the longer constructions, sometimes making relationships between stages hard to follow. For example, “the poured cold water pumped down” lacks a finite verb, while “after the water throughout the injection well and hot rocks they straight goes” has faulty clause structure and subject–verb agreement. “At last they use steam as a fuel to generator” also has missing or incorrect grammatical forms. Practise forming complete passive process sentences, such as “Cold water is pumped down the injection well,” and check tense, agreement, articles, and sentence boundaries before submitting.

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