Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-16

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 given diagram shows the building and working of a water derived clock which has many components including a tap, a straw, a plastic bottleat the top, tape with which the bottle is fastened to the stand, glued level to support overflow mechanism, and lastly a plastic bottle at the bottom.

The overall phenomenon is caried out with the juxtapostion of water and physical components of the apperatus. The device works with the combination of both the liquid and other solid parts.

Tap is the water source which is directioned towards the upper jar attached to the steady rod. As the water reaches a certain level in the container it is wasted through the straw into gutter while keeping the water hole in the base of jar closed with finger.

Furthermore, the finger is removed away from the tiny hole after reaching a constant level and the time representation starts as the water drips in the lower beaker with a scale callibrated in accordance with different levels per minute.Eventually, the water stored in jar is littered after being filled.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The student attempts to describe the diagram showing the process of building and working with a water clock. All main parts of the process are mentioned, such as the tap, upper and lower bottles, straw, and stand. However, the description of the chronological steps is somewhat jumbled and lacks a clear overview. Certain details are slightly confused or inaccurately phrased, such as stating water is "wasted through the straw into gutter" (whereas the straw acts as an overflow drain) and "littered after being filled". The response addresses the task adequately to satisfy Band 5 requirements, but lacks the clear organisation and complete precision expected at higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is divided into two short paragraphs, but the overall logical progression is somewhat weak. While transition words like "Furthermore" and "Eventually" are attempted, referencing and paragraphing lack sufficient control. The introduction jumps straight into listing components without establishing a clear structural roadmap, and the sentences within the body paragraphs do not flow smoothly from one step of the process to the next. Cohesive devices are occasionally used inaccurately or mechanically, placing the response firmly in the Band 5 territory.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, though it contains notable inaccuracies and unnatural collocations. Examples include "water derived clock", "bottleat", "glued level", and "water stored in jar is littered". The student attempts less common vocabulary such as "juxtaposition", "apparatus", and "calibrated", but these are sometimes misused or spelled incorrectly (e.g., "caried out", "juxtapostion", "apperatus", "callibrated"). These errors cause some confusion for the reader, aligning with Band 5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but grammatical accuracy is quite low due to frequent errors. Examples of structural and grammatical issues include missing articles ("Tap is the water source", "finger is removed away"), spelling mistakes, and awkward phrasing ("directioned towards", "water hole in the base of jar closed with finger"). Punctuation and word-boundary errors (e.g., "bottleat") are also present. Because these errors occur frequently and occasionally impede smooth reading, a score of 5.0 is appropriate.

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

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