Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-16
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)
This diagram ilustrate the process of generation of electricity during day and night and its distribution to grid station.
Overall, water from river is the main source of generation of electricity and its flow at day helps the generator to produce electricity. While at night the pumping of water helps in generation of electricity.
At day time dams at rivers flows the water from high level reservoir throughout the turbine to the low level reservior and then with the help of genetrator the electricity is produced and transfer to grid stations with the help of power lines. The flowing of water only works at day time, while at night the water is pumped from the low level reservior the water travels through the reversible turbine to the high level reservior. And the electricity is produced.
Generaly, the pumping and flowing of water is the main source of generation of electricity, while the generator transfer the electricity from turbine to grid stations.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The student covers the main stages of the hydroelectric power station process, identifying both the daytime generation phase and the nighttime pumping phase. However, there are some inaccuracies and confused details in the description, such as claiming that 'at night the pumping of water helps in generation of electricity' and stating incorrectly at the end that 'And the electricity is produced' during the night cycle. The overview is somewhat repetitive and contains contradictory statements regarding how electricity is generated at night. To reach a higher band, the response needs a more accurate and clearly structured summary of the cyclical nature of the process.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0
The response is organised into multiple paragraphs, attempting an introduction, body, and overall summary. However, the logical progression is hindered by repetitive phrasing and poor cohesion between sentences. For instance, the transition 'At day time dams at rivers flows...' lacks smooth flow and mechanical linking devices are sometimes used awkwardly or redundantly (e.g., repeating 'with the help of' multiple times). Paragraphing is attempted, but the internal cohesion within the body paragraph is weak due to run-on structures and confusing sequencing of day and night events.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.0
The student attempts some topic-specific vocabulary such as 'reservoir', 'reversible turbines', 'generator', and 'power lines'. However, there are several noticeable spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'ilustrate', 'reservior', 'genetrator', 'Generaly', and awkward collocations like 'dams at rivers flows the water'. The range of vocabulary is rather limited and repetitive, which restricts the lexical score to a Band 5.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0
The text displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but frequent grammatical errors impede clarity. Examples of errors include subject-verb agreement issues ('This diagram ilustrate', 'dams at rivers flows'), incorrect preposition usage ('transfer to grid stations with the help of power lines'), and awkward clause structuring. Punctuation is also problematic, with incomplete or run-on sentences fragmenting the flow of ideas.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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