Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-14

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 6.0)

This chart illustrates the process of generating electricity from a hydroelectric power station.

Overall, it is evident that the process involves five crucial stages. Which include storing the river water in a dam, flowing the water, pumping through turbines, accessing the generator and finally sending out electricity through the power grids for public use.

This process starts with a dam which is built to store the water from a high-level reservoir. Meanwhile, the dam is only opened during the day and not operated at night. Whenever the dam is opened, the free flow of water will generate electricity. Moreover the reversible turbines are used to operate the generator during the day and are useful in pumping the water back to the reservoir at night.

There is also a low level reservoir for emergency purposes which work in a similar way as the main reservoir. Furthermore, once the electricity is generated, it is then headed towards the power station generator, from where it is sent out through the power lines headed towards the national grid for household consumption.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student successfully identifies the main features of the hydroelectric power station diagram, covering key components such as the high-level reservoir, the dam, turbines, generators, and the national grid. The overview correctly outlines the sequential stages of the process. However, some details are slightly inaccurate or misconstrued based on typical diagrams of this type, such as claiming the dam is only opened during the day and closed at night, or mentioning an emergency low-level reservoir that works similarly to the main one. Despite these minor misinterpretations of the visual data, the response adequately satisfies the requirements of Task 1 by summarizing the core mechanism of electricity generation. Therefore, a band score of 6.0 is appropriate as it addresses all parts of the task with relevant, though slightly underdeveloped or inaccurate, ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The response demonstrates a coherent overall arrangement with clear paragraphing that separates the introduction, overview, and body details. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'This process starts with', 'Meanwhile', and 'Furthermore' are used to guide the reader through the stages. However, there are some cohesion and referencing issues that prevent a higher score. For example, the sentence 'Which include storing the river water...' is a sentence fragment that awkwardly breaks up the overview. Additionally, referencing with pronouns and connective links can feel slightly mechanical. Paragraphing is used sufficiently to structure the text logically, leading to a solid band 6.0 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing a technical process, including terms like 'hydroelectric power station', 'reservoir', 'turbines', 'generator', and 'national grid'. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary and collocations, such as 'reversible turbines' and 'household consumption'. However, lexical control is inconsistent, leading to awkward phrasing and word choices, such as 'flowing the water' instead of 'releasing the water' or 'water flow', and 'accessing the generator'. Spelling is generally accurate, but the limitations in precision and collocation keep the lexical score at a solid 6.0 level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, incorporating relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'a dam which is built to store the water'). However, control over complex grammar is variable. A notable grammatical error is the sentence fragment 'Which include storing the river water in a dam...', which lacks a main subject. Other minor slips include 'work in a similar way' instead of 'works', and prepositions like 'pumping through turbines'. While errors are present, they do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the explanation easily. This balance of mixed structures and occasional grammatical inaccuracies aligns well with the Band 6 descriptor.

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