Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-11

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 process given below illustrates how hydroelectric power station produces electricity.

Overall, the diagram shows activities taking place during the day and night. The process begins with the river flowing into a reservoir and ends with electricity being generated and spread across the national grid through power lines

Throughout the day, the dam is kept open in order for the water to flow down. This movement helps to generate electricity. The water then enters the power station through turbines which rotate making this technical process faster leading to the water going up to the generator from where the water reaches national grid through power lines. On the flip side, during the night, water from the low level reservoir passes through the reversible turbine and gets pumped into high level reservoir. This helps the water to flow up during pumping. This entire process helps in generating hydroelectric power through multiple mechanical and technical processes.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You identify the two operating modes and include the river, reservoirs, turbines, generator and national grid, so the response is relevant and covers the main idea. However, some stages are unclear or inaccurate: the dam’s intake, rather than the dam itself, is open during the day; water flows down through the turbines to the low-level reservoir, not up to the generator; and electricity, not water, travels from the generator through power lines to the grid. The overview says the process ends with electricity reaching the grid, but does not clearly summarise the key contrast that water is pumped back uphill at night. Clarifying these stages and distinguishing water flow from electricity transmission would make the account more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a paragraph describing the day and night stages. The contrast marker “On the flip side” helps signal the change to night operation, and the sequence is generally understandable. However, the overview’s claim that the process “ends” with electricity reaching the grid does not sit clearly with the later explanation of night-time pumping, and several ideas are crowded into long sentences. In particular, the day sequence from turbines to generator and grid is difficult to follow because the links between stages are not clearly expressed. Use separate sentences for water movement and electricity transmission, and organise the two operating modes more distinctly.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use a reasonable range of task-related vocabulary, including “reservoir,” “reversible turbine,” “generator,” “pumped,” and “national grid.” These terms show an attempt to describe a technical process, and the meaning is usually recoverable. Some choices are imprecise or unnatural for a process diagram: “activities taking place,” “spread across the national grid,” and “making this technical process faster” do not describe the mechanism accurately. “Water going up to the generator” also confuses the movement of water with the generator’s role. Prefer precise process verbs such as “flows,” “drives,” “generates,” and “is transmitted,” and use the diagram’s labels where possible. This would improve accuracy and collocation while retaining your relevant technical vocabulary.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and more complex structures, including the purpose clause “in order for the water to flow down” and the contrast between day and night. Most sentences remain understandable, but some grammatical choices reduce precision. In the opening, “how hydroelectric power station produces” needs an article (“a hydroelectric power station”). The sentence beginning “The water then enters…” also joins several actions with participle forms, making the relationships between them hard to follow. In “from where the water reaches national grid,” the relative construction is awkward and the article before “national grid” is missing. Break long sequences into shorter clauses and check articles and clause links to improve control.

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