Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-03
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 flow chart illustrates the process by which electricity is generated in a hydroelectric power station.
Overall, the process consists of several distinct phases, beginning from a high-level reservior and culminating in the generation of electricity in a power station.
To begin with, river water is held in a dam, which is opened at day and closed at night. Water is flowed down to the power station during the day. Afterward, electricity is produced during a
the day by the flow of water in reversible turbines. Following this, water is pumped by reversible turbines in an opposite direction in night. Water is pumped from the low-level reservior to the high-level reservior in the night-time.
Moving on to the next part of the process, reversible turbines are used to operate a generator at day, which is connected to power lines. Finally, these power lines would transfer electricity to the National grid station.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.0 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response addresses the main components of the hydroelectric power station diagram, but it falls short of the 150-word minimum, containing only 143 words (excluding words copied from the prompt). While there is an overall summary, some stages are described mechanically without fully exploring the contrast between daytime and night-time operations. For instance, the cyclical nature of pumping water back to the high-level reservoir at night could be integrated more smoothly with the daytime generation phase. To reach a higher band, the response must meet the minimum word count and extend the description of the key stages with greater clarity and precision.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5
The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement and attempts to sequence the steps logically using transitional markers such as "To begin with," "Afterward," and "Moving on to the next part." However, the progression becomes slightly disjointed and repetitive, particularly when describing the day and night cycles across separate sentences. Paragraphing is minimal, and cohesive devices are at times mechanical or overly simplistic. To progress, the writer should group related ideas into more cohesive paragraphs and use a wider variety of referencing words to connect the day and night processes more fluidly.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.0
The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, demonstrating an attempt to incorporate less common process-related terms such as "hydroelectric power station," "reversible turbines," and "National grid station." However, there are notable spelling errors, such as "reservior" instead of reservoir, and occasional awkward word choices, such as "Water is flowed down." These lexical inaccuracies do not seriously impede communication, but they prevent the writing from achieving a higher band. To improve, the writer should focus on accurate spelling and refine collocations related to fluid movement and technical processes.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but it contains frequent grammatical errors and awkward phrasing. For example, the passive construction "Water is flowed down" is incorrect, and prepositions are mishandled in phrases like "at day" and "in night" instead of "by day" and "at night." There are also issues with articles, such as "during a the day." These frequent errors in verb forms and prepositional patterns restrict the grammatical score. To achieve a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate better control over passive voice structures and prepositional use in temporal expressions.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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