Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-19
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 diagram illustrates the process of generating electricity and storing water using pumped stotage hydroelectric system across day and night cycle
Overall, the system operates as closed-loop process consisting of two main stages, generating electricity during day when demand high and recirculation of water in night for the next cycle. The entire system relies on reversible turbines that manage the directional flow of water between two reservoirs at different elevation
During the daytime, teh intake of high level reservoir kept open,allowing the water fed by river to flow downhill through dam .This down flow by pipeline to the power station. Upon reaching the power station, the force of the water spins the reversible turbines, which drives a generator produce electricity. The generated power transmitted via power lines directly to the national grid.the water discharge into a low level reservior.
Conversely, the operation reservior at night .The intake at the top reservior is closed, and the turbines switch into punping mode.Using excess grid electricity,these reversible turbines pump the water back uphill from the low reservior , thrpugh the pipeline, and back into the high-level reservoir.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The student successfully addresses all parts of the task by reporting the main features of the hydroelectric power station process, highlighting the differences between daytime and night-time operations. An overview is provided in the second paragraph, outlining the closed-loop nature of the system and the role of the reversible turbines. Key stages—such as water flowing from the high-level reservoir, spinning the turbines to generate electricity during the day, and being pumped back up at night—are clearly identified and supported by the visual data. While there are some minor grammatical slips and omissions of articles, the overall information is accurate and well-selected, fulfilling the requirements for a Band 7.0.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0
The response is arranged logically with a clear overall progression from an introductory overview to specific details regarding daytime and night-time cycles. Paragraphing is used adequately to separate the introduction/overview from the body details, although the final paragraph is slightly dense. Cohesive devices such as 'Overall', 'During the daytime', and 'Conversely' are employed to guide the reader through the stages of the diagram. However, referencing is occasionally imprecise, and minor punctuation or spacing issues affect the flow. Overall organisation is clear, supporting a Band 6.5.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for describing a technical process, attempting less common items such as 'closed-loop process', 'reversible turbines', and 'recirculation'. However, there are notable word choice and spelling errors throughout the text, such as 'stotage' instead of 'storage', 'teh' instead of 'the', 'punping' instead of 'pumping', and 'reservior'. While these errors do not impede communication and the intended meaning is always clear, the frequency of slips prevents the lexical score from reaching Band 7.0, placing it firmly at Band 6.0.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, incorporating relative clauses and participial phrases (e.g., 'consisting of two main stages', 'allowing the water fed by river to flow downhill'). However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly missing articles ('during day when demand high', 'into low level reservior'), missing verbs ('which drives a generator produce electricity'), and prepositions. While these errors rarely completely impede communication, they are persistent enough to cap the score at Band 6.0.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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