Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-10-21

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 illustrates the process how electricity is produced in hydroelectric power plant. The entire procedure involves several steps from how water steps in to the reservoir to the step of how power reaches to natural grid station.

Initially, water comes from river to the high level reservoir where it stores. Next to it, a dam is built there and water intake gates are present which opens during the day and closes at night time. Once the water intake takes place through these gates it enters into the flow pipe. Although water flows downward during the day to generate electricity, it then starts to flow upward at night time through the process of pumping . After that, a power station is there and also a generates and, turbines which works differently during day and night. Subsequently, low level reservoirs are attached with turbines that controls the reversible turbines. In the final step generator produces electricity and pass it to the power lines that are connected with nation grid. This is how hydroelectric power station completes the process of electricity formation.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers the main stages and gives a general account of the day-and-night cycle: water moves down to generate electricity by day and is pumped back up at night. It also mentions the river, reservoirs, intake, turbines, generator, power lines and national grid, so the process is recognisable. However, some details are unclear or inaccurate. The sentence saying the low-level reservoirs “control” the turbines misrepresents the diagram; rather, water flows between the turbines and the low-level reservoir. The generator’s role is also placed late in the sequence, after the low-level reservoir, although it is connected to the turbines and supplies electricity to the power lines. A clearer overview and more precise explanation of the two operating modes would make the account more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The response follows a broadly logical sequence, using markers such as “Initially,” “Next,” “After that,” and “In the final step” to guide the reader through the process. The day-versus-night contrast also gives the description a useful organising principle. However, the progression becomes difficult to follow in the middle: the sentence beginning “After that” combines the power station, generator and turbines in an unclear order, and the following sentence about reservoirs “controlling” turbines does not clarify their relationship. Some linking phrases feel mechanical, while references such as “it” and “there” are not always precise. Grouping the description into an overview and two stages—daytime generation and nighttime pumping—would improve cohesion and make the sequence easier to track.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

There is an adequate range of process vocabulary, including “reservoir,” “intake gates,” “flow pipe,” “pumping,” “reversible turbines,” and “power lines.” These terms help communicate the main components, and the writer attempts to describe movement and sequence. Some word choices and collocations are inaccurate or awkward, however: “the process how electricity is produced,” “water steps in,” “where it stores,” and “electricity formation” are not natural descriptions of this process. “Natural grid station” also differs from the diagram’s “national grid.” Greater precision with standard process language would strengthen the account; for example, describe water as being stored in a reservoir, flowing through a conduit, and being pumped back uphill.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, including a contrast clause beginning “Although” and several sequencing clauses. Meaning is generally recoverable, but some grammatical errors make relationships between stages unclear. Examples include “the process how electricity is produced,” “where it stores,” and “which opens,” where the clause structure, verb form or agreement is faulty. The sentence “After that, a power station is there and also a generates and, turbines” is particularly difficult to parse, and “generator produces electricity and pass it” has a subject–verb agreement error. Articles, plurals and punctuation are also inconsistent, as in “a dam is built there” and the stray space before the full stop after “pumping.” Aim for shorter, complete sentences and check agreement and clause construction.

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