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 illustration gives information about how to make a water clock. Overall, counting drops is the main process in the whole procees to creating a water clock.

It is quite evident from the graph take a bottle, a container and a stand. The container stand at the buttom of the stand and the plastic bottle is setteled on the uper side at the stand. Also make a hole in the buttom of the plastic bottle. Than cut off the nect of the container. Firstly, fill the bottle with water. Secondly, cover the buttom hole in bottle with finger. Thirdly, fill the uper bottle to top to overflow.

Furthermore, wait few minutes to water gets constant level. When water level is constant remove your finger from the buttom hole of bottle. Then count the level per minute in the container and empty repeat process for timing things. Your water clock is done.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response attempts to describe the process for making a water clock from the provided diagram. While an overview is provided at the beginning, stating that counting drops is the main process, the description of the steps is extremely fragmented and lacks sufficient development. Key stages from the diagram, such as the specific positioning of the bottle, container, and stand, as well as the measurement markings, are poorly conveyed. The explanation relies heavily on imperative instructions rather than an objective academic description suitable for a university lecturer. Furthermore, the summarising of the steps becomes vague towards the end, referring to 'timing things' rather than explaining the functional mechanism of the clock. Consequently, the task is only partially addressed, leading to a band score of 5.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The response shows some basic attempts at organisation, utilising sequencing words such as 'Firstly', 'Secondly', and 'Furthermore' to guide the reader through the steps. However, the overall progression is disrupted by poor paragraphing and a lack of clear cohesive ties between sentences. The text reads as a single block of disjointed instructions rather than a well-structured academic report. Referencing is frequently unclear, for example, using pronouns and demonstratives without proper antecedent connection, such as 'take a bottle' without establishing the subject clearly. Additionally, repetition of phrases like 'bottom hole' and 'bottle' without effective substitution makes the flow mechanical and awkward. This reflects the characteristics of a Band 5 performance.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is very basic and repetitive, frequently relying on everyday words such as 'bottle', 'container', 'water', and 'hole'. There are numerous spelling and word choice errors throughout the text, including 'procees', 'buttom', 'setteled', 'uper', 'Than', 'nect', and 'gets constant level'. These errors stem from a limited lexical range that is barely adequate for the task. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary, but these attempts are marred by inaccurate spelling and inappropriate collocations, such as 'empty repeat process'. While communication of the general procedure is still achieved despite these flaws, the frequent lexical inaccuracies constrain the score to Band 4.5, which rounds to 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 4.0

Grammatically, the response demonstrates a very limited range of structures. The sentences are predominantly simple or poorly constructed imperative forms, such as 'fill the bottle with water' and 'cover the buttom hole in bottle with finger'. There are frequent, significant grammatical errors, including missing articles ('take a bottle', 'at buttom of the stand'), incorrect prepositions ('at the buttom', 'on the uper side at the stand'), and subject-verb agreement issues ('The container stand'). Complex sentence structures are largely absent, and where multi-clause sentences are attempted, they contain errors that impede smooth readability. These persistent inaccuracies across basic sentence patterns place the grammar firmly in the Band 4 range.

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