Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-08-17

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 6.0)

At a glance, pictorial representation reveals process steps of building water clock for time measurement.

Process begins with placing empty water bottle which has small hole at base and straw sized hole at top, hold it on stand at certain height and holding tightly it through tape so that it will not fall. At the bottom of stand , put container with different marked level. First stage of the process is turn on the tap above the mouth of the bottle and place finger on hole at base so that water will not come out and not start falling directly into the container.

Subsequent stage is fill the bottle till the level of top and let overflow the water through straw attached at top hole. After that, turn of the tap and remove the finger from base hole of bottle and let water collect at base empty container. At the same time, start recording time of water reaching at equally marked level.

Through recording timing of water filling in container and repeating reaching level with interval of certain time, time can be calculated and measured through this simple set up.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The response successfully identifies the main stages of the process. You have covered the setup, the filling phase, and the measurement phase. However, the description is slightly mechanical and lacks a clear overview of the overall purpose of the mechanism beyond the final sentence. While the key steps are present, the explanation of how the water level relates to the time measurement could be more precise. To reach a higher band, ensure that the relationship between the overflow and the timing mechanism is explained more clearly, as this is the core of the process. Overall, the response is relevant and addresses the prompt effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The report is logically organized into paragraphs that follow the chronological order of the process. You have used some cohesive devices such as 'First stage', 'Subsequent stage', and 'After that' to guide the reader. However, the flow between sentences is occasionally hindered by awkward phrasing, such as 'holding tightly it through tape'. The transition between the setup and the actual operation could be smoother. The paragraphing is appropriate, but the internal cohesion within paragraphs could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words and ensuring that referencing (e.g., 'the base hole') is consistently clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have used a sufficient range of vocabulary to describe the process, such as 'pictorial representation', 'container', and 'interval'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'straw sized hole' (should be 'straw-sized') and 'turn of the tap' (should be 'turn off'). Some phrasing is also slightly unnatural, such as 'let overflow the water'. To improve, focus on using more precise technical vocabulary and ensuring that your collocations are natural. While the vocabulary is adequate to convey the meaning, it lacks the flexibility and precision required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the' is frequently missing, e.g., 'at base', 'at top') and verb forms ('let overflow the water'). Some sentences are slightly disjointed, such as 'At the bottom of stand , put container with different marked level.' Punctuation is also inconsistent, with unnecessary spaces before commas. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they occur frequently enough to impact the overall fluency. Increasing your control over articles and sentence structure will significantly improve your score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.