Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-06

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 how electricity is generated in a hydroelectric power station.

Overall, it is clear that the process consists of two main stages that operate during the day and the night. During the day, the intake is open and water flows through the turbines, which drive the generator to generate electricity and during the night reversible turbines send the water back to reservoir.

To begin with, a high level reservoir is made from a river and a dam is built on it. During the day the intake is open and water is released from the dam which generates electricity. Furthermore, the flowing water is passed through a power station which has reversible turbines and the turbines operate the generator. Moreover, the generator sends electricity from power lines to the national grid.

Drawing attention to the rest of the data, at night the reversible turbines in power station pumpes back the water to the high level reservoir and the water is pumped back into the reservoir at night only. During the night time the intake is closed as well maintaining the balance of reservoir to reuse the process daily.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully addresses all parts of the task by giving an overview of the hydroelectric power station process and highlighting the key operational differences between day and night. The main stages are selected and reported, such as the water flow through the turbines during the day to generate electricity and the nighttime pumping process that returns water to the high-level reservoir. However, some aspects of the process are slightly under-developed or repetitive, such as the repeated mention of water being pumped back at night, which keeps the response at this level. To reach a higher standard, the explanation of the mechanical pathway could be extended with more precise technical sequencing, ensuring that every step from the intake through to the national grid is linked without redundancy.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The text maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear division into introductory, overview, and body paragraphs. Logical progression is established through sequencing devices like 'To begin with' and 'Drawing attention to the rest of the data'. However, cohesion is occasionally mechanical, and referencing between sentences is sometimes repetitive, such as the redundant restatement of nighttime operations across consecutive sentences. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the daytime generation phase from the nighttime pumping phase. To improve further, the writer should employ a wider variety of cohesive devices and smoother transitions to link the cyclical nature of the process rather than relying on heavy introductory phrases.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully incorporating process-specific terms such as 'high level reservoir', 'reversible turbines', 'intake', and 'national grid'. The student attempts some less common vocabulary items like 'maintaining the balance' and 'reuse the process daily', but there are occasional inaccuracies in word choice and word form, such as 'pumpes back' instead of 'pumps back'. These errors do not impede communication, but they prevent the vocabulary from reaching a higher band. To achieve a stronger score, the student should incorporate a wider range of sophisticated lexical items and precise collocations to describe mechanical processes without spelling or form errors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The writing demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, utilizing relative clauses and subordinate structures reasonably well. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, such as missing articles ('a high level reservoir' instead of 'a high-level reservoir') and punctuation slips around conjunctions, but these errors rarely impede communication and the majority of simple sentences are accurate. To move towards higher bands, the writer needs to incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with greater control, minimizing minor slip-ups in articles, prepositional phrases, and verb agreements.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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