Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-08-05

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 5.5)

The diagram illustrates the process of electricity generation in a hydroelectric power station.

Overall, this system effectively utilizes the gravitational potential energy of water to generate electricity, and the reversible turbines paly a crucial role in both electricity production during the day and water recycling at night, making a sustainable and efficient power generation method.

At the first stage of the process, Water from the river in a high-level reservoir behind a dam. During the day, intake is open and water flows down through a channel to the power station. As the water passes through reversible turbines, it drives the produce electricity, which is then transmitted to the national grid via power lines. The used water then enters low-level reservoir.

In the following stage of the process, At night, when electricity demand in lower, the intake is closed. The reversible turbines switch function and fact as pumps. They take water in the water in the low-level reservoir and pump is back up to the high-level reservoir, ready for the next day electricity generation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response successfully identifies the main features of the hydroelectric power generation process. You have clearly distinguished between the daytime generation phase and the nighttime pumping phase. The overview provides a good summary of the system's function. However, the first sentence of the second paragraph is a sentence fragment ('Water from the river in a high-level reservoir behind a dam'), which lacks a main verb and hinders the clarity of the initial description. To improve, ensure every sentence contains a clear subject and verb to fully convey the mechanical steps of the process.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The essay is logically organized into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs representing the two stages of the process. You have used some cohesive devices such as 'At the first stage', 'In the following stage', and 'During the day' to guide the reader. However, the progression is occasionally interrupted by grammatical errors that make the flow feel slightly mechanical. The use of referencing is generally clear, but the transition between the description of the turbines and the national grid could be smoother to better link the cause-and-effect relationship of the process.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have used a range of vocabulary appropriate for a technical description, such as 'gravitational potential energy', 'reversible turbines', 'national grid', and 'sustainable'. These terms demonstrate a good grasp of the topic. There are some minor errors in word choice and collocation, such as 'fact as pumps' (should be 'act as pumps') and 'pump is back up' (should be 'pump it back up'). While these errors are noticeable, they do not impede the overall meaning of the report. Expanding your range of verbs to describe mechanical movement would further enhance your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you demonstrate the ability to construct complex sentences, there are several grammatical slips, such as the sentence fragment in the second paragraph and the incorrect verb form 'drives the produce electricity' (should be 'drives the production of electricity'). Additionally, there are minor errors with articles and prepositions, such as 'in lower' instead of 'is lower'. The majority of your sentences are understandable, but the frequency of these small errors prevents the writing from reaching a higher band score.

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