Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-12

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 picture illustrates the information about the process for making a water clock. There are seven stages of the process chart.

Overall, the initial stage of process is tap on for water and the last stage is empty and repeat process for timing things.

At the fleeting glance, the first step is turn on the tap for water, which further turns into, cover the hole with finger on the plastic bottle. After that, fill top bottle to overflow from the straw that has been fixed with the help of glue. Subsequently, equal the level of bottle at the level where the straw is attached.

Moving ahead, finger away from the hole to continue the process. Once this step complete, check the level of the plastic bottle with help of a pen or pencil and mark it after every minute. Finally, the last stage is empty and repeat the process for timing things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to describe the seven stages of the water clock manufacturing process. While an overview is provided mentioning the initial and final stages, the summary of the intermediate steps is overly simplistic and relies too heavily on quoting phrases directly from the visual prompt, such as 'cover the hole with finger on the plastic bottle' and 'check the level of the plastic bottle with help of a pen or pencil'. The progression of steps is largely identified, but the ideas and details are under-developed, lacking a comprehensive, fluent description of the mechanical cause-and-effect relationships depicted in the diagram. This performance aligns best with the Band 5 descriptor for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is organised into short paragraphs, including an introduction, an overview, and body paragraphs. However, the logical progression is frequently disrupted by awkward transitions and disjointed sentence structures, such as 'At the fleeting glance, the first step is turn on the tap for water, which further turns into, cover the hole with finger'. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or inaccurately, and referencing between sentences is weak. Paragraphing is attempted, but the overall structure lacks smooth flow and clear progression throughout the response, which is characteristic of Band 5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently lifting phrases directly from the prompt rather than paraphrasing. Examples include 'plastic bottle', 'straw', and 'tap for water'. There are noticeable lexical inadequacies and awkward word choices, such as 'equal the level of bottle' and 'finger away from the hole'. The range is limited and minimally adequate for conveying simple ideas, but spelling and word-choice limitations prevent higher band attainment, placing this comfortably at Band 5.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, but these attempts are frequently faulty and ungrammatical. Frequent structural errors impede comprehension in places, such as 'Overall, the initial stage of process is tap on for water' (missing articles and incorrect verb forms) and 'Once this step complete, check the level...' (missing auxiliary verbs and subject). Punctuation is also erratic. Due to the high frequency of grammatical errors and poorly formed complex structures, this performance corresponds to a Band 5.

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

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