Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-15

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 given diagram illustrates the production of electricity in a hydroelectric power station.

Overall, it is clear that river is the main source for production of electricity in a hydroelectric power plant. The electricity is usually generated in the day and the reverse process takes place at night.

In the beginning, the river water is stored in a reservoir by the support of a dam. This reservoir is a high-level reservoir, which is connected to the power station through an intake channel. This intake channel is opened during the day to flow the water to generate electricity and closed at night.

This power station has reversible turbines which operate the generator during the day and pump water into high-level reservoir at night. The generator generates the electricity and it is passed though power lines to the national grids so that it can be supplied to the houses.The reversible turbines are connected to a low-level reservoir to store water and later this water is pumped back to the hihg-level reservoir at night.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response identifies the main cycle accurately: water is released from the high-level reservoir during the day, drives the turbines and generator, and is pumped back at night. The overview also captures the day/night contrast, while details about the intake, power lines and national grid show good coverage of the process. Some points are less fully or precisely explained, however. The river is described as the “main source” of electricity, although the diagram shows it feeding the reservoir rather than directly generating power. The account could also clarify that water first passes through the turbines to the low-level reservoir during the day, then reverses direction at night. These details would make the process description more complete and precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The response has a clear overall structure: an introduction, an overview, and two paragraphs describing the process. Its progression from the reservoir and intake to the power station and return cycle is generally easy to follow. Linking phrases such as “In the beginning,” “during the day,” and “at night” help establish sequence and contrast. However, the final paragraph combines electricity transmission with the water-storage cycle, so the relationship between these stages is less clear. The phrase “This reservoir” is understandable, but some references could be more precise, and the repeated use of “This” and “The” makes the linking somewhat mechanical. Separating the day-time flow and night-time pumping into distinct stages would strengthen progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for describing the process, and relevant terms such as “high-level reservoir,” “reversible turbines,” “generator,” and “national grids” show familiarity with the diagram. The writer also uses process language such as “stored,” “connected,” and “pumped back.” However, some word choices and collocations are imprecise or repetitive: “by the support of a dam” is unnatural, and “the generator generates the electricity” repeats the same word rather than describing its function more precisely. “Intake channel” is less exact than the diagram’s “intake,” and “houses” adds a destination not shown. There are also spelling slips, including “hihg-level.” More precise process vocabulary and careful proofreading would improve control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex forms, including a relative clause in “which is connected to the power station” and a time contrast in “opened during the day … and closed at night.” Most sentences communicate the process clearly. Some grammatical errors remain, though they rarely obstruct meaning. For example, the overview says “that river is the main source” without the article “the,” and “This reservoir … which is connected” has an unclear relative-clause reference. In “so that it can be supplied to the houses.The reversible turbines,” a missing space after the full stop disrupts punctuation. The sentence about the turbines also shifts between present-tense functions without clearly distinguishing the day and night actions. More consistent sentence boundaries and clearer clause references would improve accuracy.

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