Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-09-19

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 diagram below show the stages of how make a clock using water. In multiple stages that has to be done in a sequencial way to make water clock sucessfully.

However, it includes some raw material like plastic bottels, glue, straw, stand and the most important of all water. Which shows the time.

First of all. you have to take a L shaped stand to hold the water bottles. in place with tape. One bottle is attacted at the top while the second one is cutted from half. To store the water dripping from the top bottle. In that top bottle you have to make a hole slightly below the neck and at the bottom. And attach a straw at the top of the bottle. And it is fixed with the help of glue.

To make it work, You have to fill it with water. As the bottle filled at the straw line. The excess water began to fall down. Then the water also began to fall down from the bottom. as the bottom bottels fills up. You can calculate the time properly.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response covers the main steps of the process for making a water clock, identifying the key components such as the bottles, stand, straw, and tap. However, the description is somewhat disjointed and fails to present a clear, structured overview of the seven sequential stages depicted in the diagram. While the writer mentions materials and several actions, the explanation of how the calibration and timing actually work is vague and relies on informal phrasing. This places the response firmly in Band 5, as it addresses the task only partially and lacks clear development of the technical process.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The text is broken into very short paragraphs and disjointed sentences, which disrupts the natural flow of information. There is an over-reliance on basic, mechanical cohesive devices such as "First of all" and "Then", and sentence fragments appear frequently (e.g., "Which shows the time." and "in place with tape."). Paragraphing is poorly controlled, with ideas about materials and steps jumbled together rather than logically grouped into distinct phases of preparation and operation. Consequently, the overall progression is weak, warranting a Band 5 score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is generally basic and repetitive ("plastic bottels", "water", "fall down"). There are several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as "sequencial" instead of sequential, "sucessfully", "attacted" instead of attached, and "cutted" which is non-standard. While the writer attempts some less common terms like "raw material" and "excess water", inaccuracies in form and collocation occasionally cause difficulty for the reader. This performance aligns with Band 5 descriptors.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

Grammatical control is weak throughout the response, featuring a very limited range of structures and frequent errors. There are multiple sentence boundary errors, including sentence fragments ("Which shows the time.") and comma splices or misplaced periods ("First of all. you have to take..."). Morphological and verb form errors are also common, such as "As the bottle filled at the straw line" and "bottom bottels fills up". These frequent errors frequently impede smooth reading and place the grammar at a Band 5 level.

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

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