Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-17

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)

The given diagram illustrates the information about the process which takes place to produce electricity with the help of hydroelectic power plant.

Overall, it is evident that the process includes several steps that starts from reserved water collected on dams and ends with supplying generated electricity to national grid.

To commence with procedure first, high-level water reserves on dams are filled up for creating a sudden thrust for turbines, secondly water is passed though the intake path and flows into a pipeline this path is opened during day but closed in night also utilized in pumping water backward to higher reserve. The flowing water open up at the section where turbines are present, so the water creates pressure that makes these turbines rotate along with turbines that are joint to generator results in production of electricity.

Moving further to remaining steps, passed water is released into the reservoir situated at a lower altitude from higher reservoir for greater impact the water moves in forward direction during day time, which in simple term could be explained like during day water goes upper altitude to lower one but opposite during night, finally produced electricity is passed to national grid by power lines.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The student covers the main stages of the hydroelectric power station process from the high-level reservoir to the national grid and the nighttime pumping cycle. An overview is present in the second paragraph, outlining the start and end points of the process. Key features, such as the intake being open during the day and closed at night, and the role of the reversible turbines and generator, are mentioned. However, the description is somewhat convoluted and lacks complete clarity in detailing the exact relationship between the day and night cycles. While all major parts of the visual are touched upon, the lack of polished selection and reporting keeps the response at Band 6.5.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The essay is divided into an introduction, an overview, and two body paragraphs, showing a logical attempt to structure the process. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'To commence with', 'Moving further to remaining steps', and 'finally', but some of these transitions are awkward or mechanically applied. Referencing and pronoun use are occasionally confusing, such as in the sentence 'this path is opened during day but closed in night also utilized in pumping water backward', which runs clauses together without clear separation. Paragraphing is adequate, but overall flow is hindered by run-on sentences and punctuation errors, leading to a Band 6.0.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting subject-specific terms such as 'hydroelectric power plant', 'reversible turbines', 'generator', and 'national grid'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'high-level water reserves on dams are filled up for creating a sudden thrust for turbines' and 'passed water is released'. Spelling errors also occur, such as 'hydroelectic'. Less common vocabulary is attempted with mixed success, placing the lexical performance solidly at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control is inconsistent. There are frequent run-on sentences and comma splices, particularly in the third and fourth paragraphs where multiple clauses are joined improperly, such as 'the water creates pressure that makes these turbines rotate along with turbines that are joint to generator results in production of electricity.' Grammatical errors, missing prepositions, and awkward phrasing occasionally impede smooth reading, though meaning can generally be deciphered. This performance aligns with the Band 5.5 descriptors.

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