Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-04

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 in a hydroelectric power station.

Overall, the electricity is produced during the day time only. The dam opens and intake water during the day into the power station. The turbines inside the power station can run in two ways. In the daytime, it pushes the water to the generator, whereas during the night it reverses the water back to the river.

During the day, water from the river gets collected in a high-level reservoir in the dam. The collected water flows through a pipeline into the power station. The excess water gets stored in low-level reservoir. The turbines, which is located at the bottom of the power station, forces water upwards to the generator. Then the generator generates electricity and push it forward to national grid via power lines for distribution.

In the night time, the generator in the power station stops operating. The turbines starts to run in opposite direction to reverse the water that was collected in the low-level reservoir during daytime into the high-level reservoir.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response addresses all parts of the task by outlining the main features of the hydroelectric power station diagram and making the necessary day and night comparisons. However, some aspects of the process are under-developed or inaccurately described. For instance, the statement that 'electricity is produced during the day time only' overlooks the continuous cycle of water management, and the description of the turbines forcing water upwards during the day conflicts with the diagram's depiction of water flowing down from the high-level reservoir. Despite these inaccuracies, the overview covers the general function of the station, placing the response securely within the relevant band for task fulfilment.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into paragraphs that separate the introduction, the overall trend, the daytime process, and the night-time process. Logical sequencing is generally evident, moving naturally from the high-level reservoir down to the power station and the national grid. However, cohesion is sometimes mechanical or faulty, such as the abrupt transition between paragraphs and minor referencing issues like 'In the daytime, it pushes the water' where the pronoun antecedent is slightly unclear. Paragraphing is used appropriately to group related stages of the process.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating process-specific terms such as 'reservoir', 'turbines', 'generator', and 'national grid'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary and lexical combinations, such as 'excess water gets stored' and 'reverse the water', though occasional inaccuracies in word choice occur, such as 'intake water' instead of 'takes in water'. Spelling and word-choice errors are minor and do not impede communication, allowing the reader to follow the described steps without difficulty.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses such as 'which is located at the bottom of the power station'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including subject-verb agreement issues like 'The turbines, which is located' instead of 'are located', and 'The turbines starts' instead of 'start'. Article and preposition usage also show occasional lapses, such as 'in low-level reservoir' missing an article and 'push it forward to national grid'. However, these errors are relatively infrequent and rarely impede communication.

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