Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The diagram details the mechanism of how electricity is generated with the help of water through a power station .

Intially the river water is stored in a dam which can be seen as a high level reservoir during the day time the water flows from high reservoir through a special opening toward a power station where it hit and rotate a turbine with a high speed which is attached to a generator and then the electricity flow in a sequence from generator to power lines and then to national grid and the water passes to the low level reservoir while at the night time the process reverses with the help of of reversible turbines the opening became closed and the water pumped back to the dam.

Overall the diagram illustrate that how the natural source water is used to light our homes and our machine running in addition to this it also identifiy that how the reversible turbine maintain the water level in the high level reservoir.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main operating cycle and include the key contrast between daytime generation and nighttime pumping. The account correctly links the high-level reservoir, intake, turbines, generator, power lines and national grid, and notes that water reaches the low-level reservoir by day before being returned at night. This meets the task well, while showing some of the fuller coverage expected at the next level. However, the overview is partly generalised: the claim that the system is used “to light our homes” and keep “our machine running” is not shown in the diagram. Also, the dam contains the reservoir rather than storing the river water itself, and the intake is closed at night. A more precise overview of the two-way water cycle would strengthen the response.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The information follows a broadly logical sequence: daytime water flow and electricity generation are described first, followed by the nighttime reversal. The use of “while” and “then” helps signal sequence and contrast, so the process is understandable overall. However, nearly all the explanation is compressed into one very long sentence, making the stages difficult to distinguish and placing too much reliance on basic linking words. The final overview is separated, but it repeats some information rather than neatly summarising the process. Organise the response into a short introduction, a clear overview, and one or two paragraphs tracing the stages. Use precise links such as “subsequently” and “at night” without joining every stage into a single sentence.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “high level reservoir,” “reversible turbines,” “generator,” and “national grid,” which makes the main mechanism identifiable. There are also attempts at more specific wording, such as “the process reverses.” Some choices are imprecise or unnatural, however: water does not “hit and rotate” a turbine in this description, and “the electricity flow in a sequence” is not a natural collocation. “Natural source water” is also unclear. Spelling and word-form slips, including “Intially” and “identifiy,” reduce accuracy. Choose standard process verbs such as “flows through,” “drives,” and “is transmitted,” and check spelling and collocations carefully.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts to explain a sequence using a mixture of clauses, including a contrast between daytime and nighttime operation. However, the long central sentence contains several grammatical problems that make the relationships between stages harder to follow. For example, “during the day time the water flows” needs clearer sentence boundaries, and “the opening became closed” uses an unsuitable tense for describing a general process. There are also agreement and article errors in “the diagram illustrate” and “rotate a turbine,” as well as missing punctuation around clauses. Use present simple consistently for process descriptions, check subject–verb agreement, and divide the sequence into shorter sentences. This would make the attempted complex structures more controlled and easier to read.

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