Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-05

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 illustratin displays the process in which electricity is made through a hydroelectric power station.

Overall, the process consists of multi-step procedure to generate electricity. it begins with running of water with high pressure through a dam and ends with distribution of electricity to national grid through power lines.

This method depends on the direction of water in a river, the water is stored in high-level reservoir by a huge dam at the night. During the day, this dam opens and water flows through a large tube to turn turbines. After the water reaches the turbines, turbines operate the generator in order to generate electricity. After that, this generated electricity distributes through power lines to netional grid.

This water enters the low-level reservoir, at night, the water returns to the initial point through a large pump into high-level reservoir in order to be stored again for the next day. Thus, this process is a circular process to generate electricity.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by providing a clear overview and reporting the main stages of the hydroelectric power station process. The writer covers both day and night cycles, noting how water flows to generate electricity during the day and is pumped back at night. Key features such as the high-level and low-level reservoirs, the dam, turbines, generator, and national grid are all identified. The overview effectively captures the cyclical nature of the system. While the explanation is generally clear, some minor details could have been further extended to reach the highest level, reflecting a solid performance that adequately highlights all necessary components without significant omissions.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The text presents a coherent overall arrangement with a clear logical progression from the initial water storage to electricity distribution and the night-time pumping cycle. Paragraphing is utilized to separate the introduction and overview from the detailed body description. Cohesive devices are employed to link ideas together, such as 'Overall', 'During the day', and 'After that'. However, referencing and transitions are at times slightly mechanical or repetitive, such as the frequent reliance on 'water' and simple sequential connectors. Furthermore, punctuation errors in sentence separation, such as comma splices or missing capitalization after terminal punctuation, slightly detract from the overall flow, bridging the gap between a clear logical structure and more sophisticated cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully conveying the steps of the process with terms like 'hydroelectric power station', 'reservoir', 'turbines', and 'generator'. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, such as 'multi-step procedure' and 'circular process', but also exhibits noticeable inaccuracies in word choice, spelling, and word forms. Examples include typos such as 'illustratin' and 'netional', as well as awkward phrasing like 'distributes through power lines to netional grid' instead of a passive structure. These lexical errors and limitations in precision mean the range remains modest, typical of a standard intermediate level where communication is maintained despite occasional slips.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at subordination and relative clauses. However, control over grammatical accuracy is inconsistent, with frequent basic errors in articles, prepositions, and sentence boundaries. For instance, run-on sentences and comma splices occur, such as 'the water is stored in high-level reservoir by a huge dam at the night. During the day...', where articles are also missing ('a high-level reservoir', 'at night'). Verb forms and active/passive confusions also surface, such as 'electricity distributes'. These errors require some effort from the reader to parse, placing the grammatical control firmly within an intermediate band where complex structures frequently contain mistakes.

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