Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 14 · 2026-11-02

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 5.0)

The given chart demonstrates the information that how electricity is generated in a hydroelectric power station.

Firstly river water is store in dam because dam is an high level water reservoir when dam limit is full than intakes are open during day and closed during night after flow of water which generate electricity during day comes in turbines which connected with generator power lines into national grid after turbines during ay water goes into low level reservor and during night water goes backnear intake and th intake is closed over the night the water again go in turbines in generator this process is do many time to generate more electricity from same water.

Overall, this is an very good process to generate electricity because in this time electricity is more important to do any work and we have less meathods to generate electricity than some meathods also produce more polution when generate electricity like coal.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You identify the main subject and include several relevant stages: water is held behind the dam, released through the turbines during the day, and returned from the low-level reservoir at night. However, the process is only minimally described: the generator and connection to the national grid are mentioned unclearly, and the night-time pumping cycle is not explained accurately enough. The final paragraph gives an opinion about the process and pollution rather than a factual overview of the diagram. The response also falls four words short of the 150-word minimum; the nine words copied from the task prompt are excluded from the count. To improve, give a concise overview of the day/night cycle and describe each stage precisely, without adding evaluation.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is a basic attempt to organise the response, with a process paragraph followed by a concluding paragraph, and sequence markers such as “Firstly” and “after” help indicate order. However, most of the process is compressed into one long sentence, so the stages and the change from daytime generation to night-time pumping are difficult to follow. Connections such as “after turbines during ay” and “water goes backnear intake” do not make the sequence clear. The final paragraph also shifts from describing the diagram to giving a general opinion, interrupting the progression of a Task 1 report. Use separate sentences or paragraphs for daytime and night-time operation, and connect each stage with clear, accurate sequencing language.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some relevant process vocabulary, including “dam,” “reservoir,” “turbines,” “generator,” and “national grid,” so the reader can recognise the topic. However, the range is limited and several word choices or spellings make the description less clear, such as “dam limit is full,” “reservor,” and “meathods.” Some phrases are also imprecise for this diagram: “water goes back near intake” does not clearly describe pumping from the low-level reservoir to the high-level reservoir. Aim for accurate process terms and natural collocations, such as “water is stored in the reservoir” and “is pumped back uphill.” Avoid informal or evaluative wording such as “very good process” in an objective report.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt to describe a sequence using connected clauses, but the response relies heavily on one long sentence and has frequent errors in basic sentence structure and verb forms. For example, “river water is store” needs a passive participle, while “when dam limit is full than intakes are open” has faulty clause construction and article use. In “this process is do many time,” the verb form and plural are also incorrect. These errors sometimes make the relationships between stages difficult to understand. Practise writing short, complete sentences in the present simple and passive voice, for example, “During the day, water flows through the turbines and drives the generator.” Then check articles, agreement, and sentence boundaries.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

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