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)
The diagram illustrates the process of generating electricity through hydroelectric power station.
Generating power through hydroelectric power station mainly composed of a dam, turbines and generator in the Power station. Power lines are also installed which transmit electricity from generator to National grid.
Dam is constructed in the River. high-level reservoir just constructed before dam to commulate water from river.Water is stored in the High-level reservior. There is also a vessel known as Intake that is use to flow water into turbines. It is opened in the day but closed at the night. The flow of water goes into Power station through the vessel directly into turbines. Turbines moves by the stream of water which resulted into creating electricity. Generator in the Power station transfers the electricity to the National grid using the Power lines.
After swinging the trubines, water moves toward the Low-level reservior. From there it is pumped again to the High-level reservior at the night. It is then again used to generate power during day-time. The cycle keeps repeating and producing current.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 6.0 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.0 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0
The student covers the main features of the hydroelectric power station diagram, explaining both the day-time power generation process and the night-time pumping cycle. An overview is attempted in the introduction, though it lacks a clear summary of the cyclical nature of the process. While the key stages are identified—such as the high-level reservoir, intake, turbines, generator, and low-level reservoir—some descriptions contain inaccuracies or awkward expressions, such as stating that the dam is constructed in the river rather than containing the reservoir. Overall, the response addresses all parts of the task adequately, meeting the requirements for a Band 6.0.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The response is arranged into four paragraphs, following a logical sequence from introduction to the main generation phase and finally the night-time pumping cycle. However, the logical progression is occasionally hindered by abrupt transitions and faulty referencing, such as starting sentences without proper articles ('Dam is constructed', 'Water is stored'). Paragraphing is attempted, but paragraph 3 is overly dense and clumps several distinct steps together without smooth cohesive links. Cohesive devices are minimal and sometimes mechanical. Therefore, Coherence and Cohesion is placed at Band 5.5.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The student demonstrates an adequate vocabulary for the task, successfully using terms directly related to the diagram such as 'reservoir', 'turbines', 'generator', 'intake', and 'National grid'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and inappropriate word choices throughout, such as 'commulate' instead of 'accumulate', 'vessel' instead of 'conduit' or 'pipe', and 'swinging' instead of 'turning' or 'rotating'. Word formation and collocation errors are frequent ('at the night', 'day-time'), limiting the score to a Band 5.5.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0
The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but control over grammar and punctuation is inconsistent. There are frequent missing articles ('Dam is constructed', 'in High-level reservior', 'at night'), incorrect prepositions ('at the night'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('Turbines moves'). Some complex structures are attempted, but mechanical errors cause occasional difficulty for the reader. The grammatical control reflects the descriptors for Band 5.0, as errors are frequent across both simple and complex structures.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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