Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-14

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 4.5)

The diagram illustrates how electricity generated in a hydroelectric power station.

Overall, there are two main steps involved to generate the electricity. During the day, Dam stored the water from river through high level reservoir then moves toward power station with the help of national grid. Due to the lowest demand of electricity at night, flow of water during pumping toward high-level reservoir.

The process start

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the topic and attempt an overview by referring to the day and night stages, but the response addresses the process only minimally. The claim that water moves to the power station “with the help of national grid” misrepresents the diagram: water passes through the turbines, while the generator sends electricity via power lines to the grid. The night-time pumping stage is mentioned, but the account ends before explaining the full cycle or how the low-level reservoir is involved. The response also falls 84 words short of the required minimum, leaving too little space to select and report the main stages. To improve, describe the complete day and night sequence accurately and include a clear overview of how the system operates.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, beginning with an introduction and an overview, and the references to “During the day” and “at night” provide a simple time-based structure. However, the progression is difficult to follow because the stages are compressed into unclear sentences, and the response stops at “The process start” without completing the sequence. The relationship between the dam, reservoir, power station and national grid is not clearly expressed. Use separate, complete sentences to describe the daytime flow and the reverse nighttime pumping, and connect them with straightforward sequencing language such as “first,” “then” and “at night.” A complete, logically ordered account would make the process easier to understand.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Your vocabulary includes relevant process terms such as “hydroelectric power station,” “high-level reservoir” and “pumping,” showing some ability to use topic-specific language. However, the range is narrow, and several choices are inaccurate or imprecise: “with the help of national grid” confuses the movement of water with the transmission of electricity, while “lowest demand” is not stated in the diagram. “Dam stored the water” also gives an unclear description of the reservoir’s role. Use precise process verbs and distinguish water flow from electricity transmission—for example, water “flows through” turbines, while electricity is “transmitted to” the national grid. More varied and accurate vocabulary would help you report the stages clearly.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts a few sentence forms, including an overview and a time clause beginning “During the day,” but grammatical control is weak and errors frequently affect clarity. In “The diagram illustrates how electricity generated,” the passive construction is incomplete; write “how electricity is generated.” “The process start” has incorrect verb agreement and is also unfinished, while “Dam stored the water” lacks an appropriate article and tense for describing a process. The sentence beginning “Due to the lowest demand…” is a fragment rather than a complete clause. Practise complete present-simple process sentences, accurate passive forms, and articles, such as “The water is stored in the high-level reservoir” and “At night, it is pumped back.”

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