Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-08

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows how electricity is generated in a hydroelectric power station.

Summarise the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

Student answer (Band 4.5)

The diagram below illustrates manner electricity is change in a hydroelectric power station.

The water come through by river in pips and collecting in dam during the day door of dam is open and from night it’s closed, and it’s go through pips by very high level to generator to reduce the power.

The water come through by river to the pips to the dam and its collect in dam , the dam have a door for intake and outtake during the day it will be open and flow of water to electricity generate in the night the door from dam will be close to pumping the water.

After the process the generator start working during the day it will be low level reservoir and during the night pump water into high level reservoir , the generator reducing the electricity to power station and power lines wil make the national grid.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the central process and include several relevant features: water enters from the river, the intake is open by day and closed at night, and water is pumped back to the high-level reservoir at night. However, the account is only partially accurate and developed. The description that water goes “to generator” skips the reversible turbines, while “the generator reducing the electricity” misrepresents the generator’s role: it produces electricity, which is sent through power lines to the national grid. The day-time route to the low-level reservoir is also unclear. To strengthen the response, give a concise overview of the two operating modes, then describe the stages in their correct order and distinguish electricity generation from night-time pumping.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is some attempt to follow the process from the river and dam towards the generator and grid, and the repeated references to day and night help signal the two operating modes. However, the information is not arranged in a consistently clear progression. The second sentence repeats the river, pipes and dam details from the first, and the final sentence combines the generator, low-level reservoir, power station and grid in a way that makes their relationships difficult to follow. Linking phrases such as “During the day,” “The water then passes through…” and “At night, the process is reversed” would make the sequence easier to track. Organising the response into an overview and a clearly ordered account of each mode would also improve coherence.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use some relevant process vocabulary, including “high level reservoir,” “intake,” “generator,” “power lines” and “national grid,” so the reader can recognise the general subject. However, the range is limited and several word choices or collocations make the meaning unclear. For example, “electricity is change” does not express generation, “door of dam” is an imprecise label for the intake, and “reduce the power” does not describe the generator’s function. “Pips” is also not the appropriate term for the water channel shown. Aim to use the diagram’s precise labels and practise common process phrases such as “water flows through a conduit” and “electricity is transmitted to the grid.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to connect stages in longer sentences, but sentence structures are limited and errors are frequent enough to make some relationships difficult to understand. Examples include “The water come through” and “the dam have,” where subject–verb agreement is incorrect, and “during the day door of dam is open,” where articles and sentence structure are missing. Tense and clause construction are also unreliable in phrases such as “it’s go through pips” and “the generator start working.” Use the present simple consistently for a process, and build shorter, complete sentences before attempting longer ones. For example: “During the day, the intake opens and water flows through the turbines.” Check agreement, articles and punctuation when editing.

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