Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-15
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 given flow chart illustrates the steps followed to generate electricity in a hydroelectric power station with the help of river water.
Overall, there are three stages that can be executed to produce electric power. The initial stages of the process is to collect water from the river and flow it through the generator to produce electricity.
In initial stage, river water is collected by establishing a dam creating a High-level reservoir. At the daytime, the dam intakes the stored water and flow it through a pipeline towards the generator. This water is further helps in operating the generator by rotating the turbines. In the last stage this rotation
help in generating the electric power which is travelled to power lines to provide electricity to every household.
The water current after passing the turbines stored in the Low-level reservoir. However, this water is recycled to the higher reservoirs by pumping the water. This process is done at night where the
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers the main features of the hydroelectric power station process well, including both the daytime electricity generation phase and the nighttime water-pumping cycle. An overview is attempted at the beginning, noting the three stages. However, the response trails off abruptly at the end ('This process is done at night where the'), leaving the description incomplete. Despite this minor truncation, key elements such as the high-level reservoir, dam, intake, turbines, generator, power lines, and low-level reservoir are correctly identified and contrasted between day and night modes. The information is generally accurate and grounded in the visual data, fulfilling the core requirements of Task 1.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The response is generally coherent with a logical sequence following the flow of water through the power station. Paragraphing is attempted to separate the introduction, overview, and body details, but the formatting breaks down as the text cuts off at the end. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'In initial stage', 'However', and 'At the daytime' are used to connect ideas, though some transitional phrasing feels slightly mechanical. Referencing is mostly clear, but the abrupt ending disrupts the overall progression and flow of the text.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific terms such as 'flow chart', 'high-level reservoir', 'dam', 'turbines', 'generator', and 'power lines'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'The initial stages of the process is' (instead of 'stage is'), 'flow it through' (instead of 'flow water through'), and 'water current' (instead of 'flow of water'). Less common vocabulary is attempted with limited precision, resulting in occasional errors that do not severely impede communication.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses and prepositional phrases. However, grammatical accuracy is inconsistent. There are several noticeable errors, such as subject-verb agreement issues ('stages... is'), incorrect prepositions ('At the daytime' instead of 'During the day'), and awkward verb forms ('This water is further helps'). Furthermore, the sentence is left unfinished at the very end. While these errors do not completely obscure the meaning, they are frequent enough to prevent the score from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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