Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-13
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 5.0)
The diagram illustrates the development process of electricity in hydroelectric power station. It is evident from diagram that the devlopment process begins with the water from river. The river water then goes into a dam where its flow get increased to generate electricity. The end process involves reversible turbine that complete the electricity development.
The development process of electricity begins with the river water that goes straight into high level reservoir alongside a dam. The dam then increase the water flow at maximum level to generate electricity in day time whereas the water flow at night pumps and move back to high level reservoir from low level reservoir .
The next major step after water flow is that the flowing water move straight into a reversible turbine which operate generator at day and pump water into high level reservoir at night. On other side a low level reservoir flow at night to pump water to high level reservoir. The turbines then connect with a generator that generate electricity which then move this electricity through power lines and national grid further on.
It is clear from graph that the development process of electricity involves around 7 major steps in order to generate electricity enough to supply to national grids.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0
The response attempts to summarise the diagram showing how electricity is generated in a hydroelectric power station. The writer identifies some main features, such as the river water, the dam, the reversible turbine, and the generator. However, the overview is weak, and the explanation contains several mechanical inaccuracies regarding the process, such as stating that 'the dam then increase the water flow at maximum level' or describing the low-level reservoir flowing at night. Furthermore, the description lacks a cohesive, well-integrated summary of the daytime generation phase versus the night-time pumping cycle. Consequently, the response addresses the task only partially, leading to a band score of 5.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The text is divided into four paragraphs, which shows an attempt at organisation. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, such as 'The development process of electricity begins with...', 'The next major step after water flow is...', and 'On other side...'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, for instance, in the sentence 'On other side a low level reservoir flow at night to pump water to high level reservoir.' Paragraphing is used, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs suffers from repetitive phrasing and lack of smooth transitions, placing this response at band 5.0.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The vocabulary used is limited and repetitive, heavily relying on basic terms like 'development process', 'electricity', 'water', and 'reservoir'. There are noticeable word choice and spelling errors, such as 'devlopment' (development), 'get increased' (be increased), and 'flow at maximum level'. While the writer attempts some less common vocabulary related to the diagram, such as 'reversible turbine', 'national grid', and 'generator', the inaccuracies in collocation and word formation cause some difficulty for the reader and prevent the score from rising higher than a 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is weak. There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including subject-verb agreement issues ('its flow get increased', 'a low level reservoir flow', 'turbines then connect... that generate'), missing articles ('in hydroelectric power station', 'at day time'), and awkward preposition use. Although meaning can generally be extracted with effort, the high frequency of errors places this performance firmly at band 5.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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