Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

The diagram provides information about generation of electricity in a hydroelectric power station.Overall,it looks like a complicated process but while digging inside it is a simple one.It beings with water flowing from a river to a dam and it ends with power lines.The intake process is only done during the day time,however outtake can be done during both day and night time.

Initially,the water from the river is collected in a high level reservoir, the intake is only done during the day time.The water is then flowing to the generator situated in the power station.Following this the turbines placed in the generator converts water to electricity,the turbines kept are reversible which is used to pump water to the high level reservoir from low level reservoirat night. And then the generated electricity is then passed through the power lines to the national grid which is then made available for people to use.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You identify the process as hydroelectric generation and include several key stages: water enters the high-level reservoir, flows through the station, and electricity is sent to the national grid. You also recognise the reversible turbines’ night-time pumping role. However, some important details are incomplete or unclear. The overview says the process “ends with power lines,” although the diagram shows electricity going on to the national grid, while water flows onward to the low-level reservoir during the day. The intake is open by day and closed at night; describing an “outtake” as occurring at both times does not clearly explain this cycle. Develop the two operating modes more precisely and distinguish the water route from the electricity route.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable sequence, moving from an introduction and overview to the stages of operation, and connectors such as “Initially,” “Following this,” and “And then” help signal order. However, the progression is not consistently clear because the day-time flow, electricity generation, and night-time pumping are combined in the same long passage. The sentence beginning “Following this” shifts from turbines to pumping and then back to electricity, making the sequence difficult to follow. The response would be easier to understand if divided into clear paragraphs and if the day and night cycles were described separately. Some linking phrases also feel mechanical or repetitive rather than showing the relationship between stages precisely.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “high level reservoir,” “reversible,” “turbines,” “power lines,” and “national grid,” which allows the reader to identify the main components. However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing this diagram. “Intake process” and “outtake” do not clearly name the water’s movement, and “the water is collected” is less precise than saying it is stored. “Digging inside it” is an informal and confusing way to introduce the process, while “made available for people to use” adds an unsupported detail. There are also spelling and word-form slips, such as “beings” for “begins” and “reservoirat” without a space. Aim for accurate process collocations and concise, formal wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt a mixture of simple and more complex sentences, including clauses joined with “while,” “which,” and “and.” However, control is uneven, and errors in verb forms and sentence construction sometimes make the process hard to follow. For example, “the turbines … converts” has a subject–verb agreement error, and “The water is then flowing” is an awkward tense choice in a sequence of process stages. The sentence beginning “Following this” contains several linked ideas without clear grammatical boundaries, and “the generated electricity is then passed … which is then made available” has an unclear reference for “which.” Review agreement, use the present simple consistently for process descriptions, and break long sentences into clearer units. Punctuation and spacing also need more careful checking.

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