Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-09-27
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)
This diagram iullusrates that how electricity is generated by hydroelectric power station and how it works.The initial step of generating electricity by hydroelectric power starts when water comes from river and enter into high level reservoir. Water is blocked by dam and under dam there is space which after connects to the pipe. During day time water intake remains open and at night it remains close. Water goes downward through pipe and enter into power station where there is turbine which moves when water enters into it. Turbine is also connected with generator when turbine moves with the help of water generator produce electricity. Electricity is then passes to the power lines and then to the national grid.Water continously moves out from power station during day time and enters into low reservoir. During night water moves all opposite to the day. It start from low reservoir and moves to high reservoir.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The student successfully identifies the main purpose of the diagram, which is to illustrate how electricity is generated in a hydroelectric power station and the contrast between day and night operations. Key features such as the high-level reservoir, dam, water intake, turbines, generator, power lines, and low-level reservoir are mentioned. However, the report lacks a clear overview paragraph summarising the overall process. Furthermore, the description of the night-time cycle is somewhat basic and misses the specific detail of water being pumped back up to the high-level reservoir using reversible turbines. Overall, the response addresses the prompt adequately but would benefit from a more structured overview and precise coverage of the cyclical nature of the station.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The text demonstrates a basic progression following the chronological flow of water from the river to the national grid. However, the cohesion is heavily impacted by the lack of paragraphing, as the entire response is written as a single block of text. Cohesive devices are basic and repetitive, such as 'then', 'and', and 'during'. Referencing is sometimes unclear, for example in sentences like 'under dam there is space which after connects to the pipe', which disrupts the logical flow. To achieve a higher band, the student must divide the text into logical paragraphs and employ a wider, more varied range of cohesive links.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is adequate to convey the basic mechanical process, featuring words such as 'reservoir', 'turbine', 'generator', and 'national grid'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word formation errors, such as 'iullusrates' instead of 'illustrates', and awkward phrasing like 'water moves all opposite to the day'. The range of vocabulary is rather limited, relying heavily on basic verbs like 'goes', 'moves', and 'enters'. There is a lack of less common academic lexical items appropriate for a process description, restricting the lexical score to a band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but control over grammar is inconsistent. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, including missing articles ('enter into high level reservoir', 'under dam'), incorrect prepositions ('connects to the pipe'), and run-on sentences with poor punctuation ('Water goes downward through pipe and enter into power station...'). Subject-verb agreement errors also occur, such as 'electricity is then passes'. While meaning is generally clear despite these errors, the frequency of basic grammatical inaccuracies prevents the response from reaching a higher band.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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