Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-13

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 6.5)

The diagram illustrate how a hydroelectric power station generates electercity using a pumped-storage system. Overall,the process is cyclical and operate differently during the day and night,involving a high level reservior,a dam, a power station with reversible turbines,and a low-level reservior. During the day,the intake at the bottom of high-level reservoir is open. Water flows from the high level reservoir, which is supplied by a river,down to the power station.The force of this flowing water derives the reversible turbines, which in turn operate the generator. reservioThe electercity producedbis then sent through power lines to the national gird. The water is then released into the low level reservior. At night, the system revrese. The intak is closed, and water is pumped from the low level reservior back up into high level reservior.During this time, the reversible turbines act as pumps rather the generators, using electercity from the gird to move the water uphill. This ensures that the high level reservior is full again for electercity generation the following day.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response covers the main stages and gives a clear overview of the system’s day–night cycle. It accurately describes the river feeding the high-level reservoir, daytime water flow through the turbines to generate electricity, transmission to the national grid, and nighttime pumping back uphill. The contrast between the intake being open by day and closed at night is also included. These details make the process easy to understand and address the task well. To strengthen the account further, make the relationship between the low-level reservoir and the turbines more explicit: water flows into it during the day and returns from it at night. The explanation of the nighttime energy source is not shown in the diagram, so avoid adding that detail as fact.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The information is organised in a clear sequence: an overview is followed by separate descriptions of daytime and nighttime operation. Time markers such as “During the day” and “At night” help the reader follow the cycle, while “which in turn” and “then” connect stages logically. This gives the response a consistent progression. Some transitions and punctuation are less controlled, however: the opening overview runs into the next sentence without a space after “Overall,” and several long sentences contain multiple stages without clear punctuation. The stray fragment “reservio” also interrupts the flow. Use clean paragraph breaks and proofread sentence boundaries so the otherwise logical organisation remains smooth throughout.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The response uses a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “pumped-storage system,” “reversible turbines,” “generator,” “power lines,” and “released.” These terms help describe the stages with reasonable precision. However, several spelling errors affect key words, including “electercity,” “reservior,” “revrese,” “intak,” and “gird”; there is also an accidental fragment, “reservio.” Some word choices are imprecise: “derives the reversible turbines” is not a natural way to describe water turning them, and “act as pumps rather the generators” is awkward. Aim for accurate spelling and natural process collocations, such as “drives the turbines” and “rather than generating electricity.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

There is a useful mix of simple and complex structures, including the relative clause “which is supplied by a river” and the sequence “which in turn operate the generator.” Most of the process remains understandable, and the day/night contrast is expressed through appropriate present-tense forms. Some grammatical errors remain, though. The opening should be “The diagram illustrates,” with subject–verb agreement; “Overall, the process is cyclical and operates” also needs agreement. In “the reversible turbines act as pumps rather the generators,” the comparison requires “rather than.” Articles and prepositions are sometimes missing, as in “back up into high level reservoir.” Review agreement, articles, and comparison patterns, and use punctuation to separate the stages more accurately.

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