Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-05

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

The diagram below shows the process for making a water clock.

Write a report for a university lecturer describing the information below.

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN WATER CLOCK

Student answer (Band 5.0)

The sketch demonstrates information about the process to making a water clock.

Firstly, pour a water from the sink. However, you can not forget about covering the hole from the bottom of the container. Therefore, wait until the bottle is full to pour out the water with a straw where it's connected in a side. Nevertheless, measure the capacity of water to not overflow from the constant level.

Now, you should remove the blockage from the bottom of the hole. Which is increase the level of another container. It will consider as a per minute. Moreover you have to very keen for the timing. And if the second bottle gets very last level of it's capacity, you will need to pour it out. Unless you don't wanna overflow and mess up the experiment.

And now, this is the whole seven steps to make a water clock by yourself in homemade.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.0

The response identifies the general subject and mentions several relevant actions, including covering the hole, filling the upper bottle, releasing the blockage and repeating the process. However, it only partially describes the diagram and does not give a clear overview of how the apparatus works. Some details are inaccurate or unclear: the diagram shows water overflowing through a straw to maintain a constant level, not water being poured out through it, and the lower bottle’s rising water level is used to mark elapsed time. The construction details—such as attaching the upper bottle to a stand and placing the cut-neck bottle below it—are also omitted. To improve, summarise the setup and explain the stages in their correct order, using precise descriptions of the water flow and timing.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

There is some organisation: the response moves from initial preparation to releasing the water and then to repeating the process. Sequencing words such as “Firstly,” “Now,” and “And now” help signal stages. However, the progression is not consistently clear, and several links between ideas are inaccurate or awkward. For example, “Therefore, wait until the bottle is full to pour out the water with a straw” combines filling, overflow and draining in a confusing way. “Which is increase the level of another container” is also disconnected from the preceding sentence. Use separate paragraphs for the apparatus and the operating stages, and connect each step with clear, accurate sequencing language rather than relying on conversational transitions.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses a small range of relevant vocabulary, including “hole,” “container,” “straw,” “level” and “timing,” so the reader can recognise the topic. It also attempts process language such as “covering” and “remove the blockage.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for a formal diagram report: “pour a water,” “pour out the water with a straw,” “very last level,” and “in homemade” do not express the intended meanings clearly. The informal phrase “mess up the experiment” is also unsuitable for this report. Build a more precise process vocabulary and use standard collocations, for example “water flows through the hole,” “mark the water level,” and “repeat the procedure.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The writer attempts both simple and longer sentences, including clauses introduced by “However,” “Therefore” and “if.” Nevertheless, the range is limited, and errors occur frequently enough to make some relationships difficult to follow. Examples include “the process to making” instead of a correct infinitive or gerund pattern, “Which is increase” as an incomplete clause, and “you have to very keen,” which is missing a required verb. There are also problems with articles and possessives in “a water” and “it's capacity,” as well as sentence boundaries in “And if the second bottle gets very last level of it's capacity, you will need to pour it out.” Practise complete clauses and accurate verb patterns, then proofread punctuation and sentence structure.

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