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 above diagram describes generation of power from hydroelectric power station. Water from the the river is stopped using a dam which creates water reservoir shown as high-level reservoir. Below the dam structure there is a way where water is supplied to the power station. Although there is a single line for water flow, water flows in different directions. At the day time it generates electricity through generator and during night pumping of water takes place to the high-levwl reservoir. Power station contains reversible turbines, one part of it is connected to generator which generates electricity while the other part of it is connected to low-level reservoir. During day-time, the water flows from high-level reservoir to the low-level reservoir which rotates the turbines and that results in genration of electricity which is supplied to the national grid through power lines. During night, reversible turbine rotates in a opposite direction which pumps water to the high-level reservoir.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 6.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5
The student covers all key parts of the diagram, successfully explaining the dual daytime and night-time processes of the hydroelectric power station. The response identifies the high-level reservoir, dam, intake, reversible turbines, generator, power lines, national grid, and low-level reservoir. The main features and the cyclical nature of water flow are clearly reported, with accurate details such as 'At the day time it generates electricity' and 'During night pumping of water takes place'. The overview is integrated well into the description. While a brief introduction outlining the overall process could have been more pronounced, the content accurately reflects the provided visual data without significant omissions or inventions.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The essay has a clear logical organization and progression throughout, tracing the process from the river to the national grid and back. However, the text suffers from a lack of paragraphing, appearing as a single dense block of text, which holds the cohesion score back. Cohesive devices are generally handled adequately ('Although', 'which', 'During day-time', 'During night'), but referencing is occasionally slightly repetitive. Paragraphing the daytime generation phase and the night-time pumping phase into separate paragraphs would have significantly improved the structural clarity.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The student demonstrates a sufficient range of vocabulary relevant to the diagram, successfully utilizing terms such as 'hydroelectric power station', 'high-level reservoir', 'reversible turbines', 'generator', and 'national grid'. There are some awkward word choices and typographical errors, such as 'generation of power from hydroelectric power station' (missing an article), 'high-levwl' (spelling error), and 'genration' (spelling error). Nevertheless, the vocabulary is adequate to convey the mechanical processes clearly, allowing the reader to follow the explanation without severe comprehension difficulties.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
The student employs a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, using relative clauses and subordinate clauses (e.g., 'Water from the the river is stopped using a dam which creates water reservoir'). There are several grammatical errors, notably missing articles ('from hydroelectric power station', 'At the day time'), duplicated words ('from the the river'), and minor punctuation or prepositions issues ('in a opposite direction'). However, complex structures are attempted and many sentences are grammatically sound, meaning communication is rarely impeded.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.