Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · 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 6.0)

The diagram illustrates how to build a water clock.

Overall, the process consist of seven stages, requires several materials including plastic bottles, a straw, tape, glue, stand and a pencil. It begins with the turning on the tap and ends with the emptying of plastic bottles and repeating the process.

The diagram shows that a plastic bottle is attached to the stand with tape and a straw is attached near the top of bottle with the glue. Another plastic bottle, with its neck cut off is placed at the base of the stand.

Initially, the tap is turned on to fill the plastic bottle with water, while the hole at the bottom of the bottle is coverred with the finger. The bottle is filled until the level of straw and allowed it to remain constant. After that, finger is removed from the hole, allowing water to flow in to the lower bottle. The lower bottle is marked at one-minute interval to measure the water level. Finally, when all the water has flowed into the lower bottle, it emptied and repeated the process to measure the water level at different periods of time.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all the key features of the water clock diagram. The overview clearly states that the process consists of seven stages and requires specific materials, while accurately identifying the beginning and end of the process. The student traces the sequence of steps well, from attaching the bottles to the stand, filling the upper bottle, controlling the water flow with a finger and a straw, and finally measuring the intervals in the lower bottle. The information is fully relevant and addresses all parts of the task appropriately, demonstrating a clear understanding of the visual source material without significant omissions. This aligns well with the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The report displays a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. The response is divided into an introduction, an overview paragraph, and detailed body sentences that follow the chronological sequence of the process. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'After that', and 'Finally' are used appropriately to guide the reader through the stages. However, some minor referencing and cohesion issues occur, such as in the sentence 'the process consist of seven stages, requires several materials...', where a subject pronoun is missing, slightly affecting the fluidity. Paragraphing is adequate, but the body could be split slightly better to separate preparation from operation. Overall, coherence remains clear, supporting a Band 6.5.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating terms related to the process such as 'illustrates', 'materials', 'plastic bottles', 'stand', and 'interval'. There are some successful attempts at less common phrasing, but occasional word choice and morphological errors are present, such as 'consist' instead of 'consists', 'coverred' with a spelling error, and missing articles in phrases like 'with the glue' or 'it emptied and repeated'. Despite these minor inaccuracies, communication is never impeded, and the vocabulary is sufficient to describe the mechanical steps clearly. This performance sits comfortably at Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The student uses a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating control over relative clauses and participial phrases, such as 'Another plastic bottle, with its neck cut off is placed...' and 'allowing water to flow into the lower bottle'. However, there are frequent minor grammatical errors regarding verb forms and missing prepositions, including 'is coverred with the finger' and 'allowed it to remain constant'. Punctuation is generally acceptable, and while errors persist, they rarely impede communication. The variety of structures combined with these recurring slips corresponds to a Band 6.0.

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