Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-06
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 5.5)
The diagram illustrates process of building personal water clock.
Overall, process consist of seven stages. It begains with droping water into plastic bottle and ends with controlling the timing of drops reaching to another plastic bottle.
Initially, the process begins by receiving water from a tap. The water fell into a plastic bottle which has two holes in it. The first one is located on the top right side of bottle while the other is in the beneath of bottle. Cover bottom hole with your finger until water flows from straw attached to the side hole of plastic bottle. Make sure water stay at constant level.
Afterthat, keep your finger away from hole and water starts dripping into flask. Then calculate the level of water on the basis of sixty seconds. Mark level of water in flask every minute. Afterwards, repeat the process to calculate time interval. Finally by adapting these steps you can build your personal water clock.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 6.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5
The response covers the main parts of the diagram, identifying the overall process and its seven stages. However, the coverage is somewhat uneven. While the beginning and middle steps are mentioned, key mechanical elements shown in the visual—such as the upper and lower bottles, the stand, and the overflow straw—are partially missed or under-developed. For example, the description states that the water fell into a plastic bottle which has two holes in it, overlooking how the straw acts as an overflow drain. Furthermore, the overview is rather basic, merely stating that the process consists of seven stages without summarising the core mechanism of water level measurement.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0
The report has a coherent overall arrangement, and information is presented in a logical sequence that mirrors the stages in the diagram. Cohesive devices such as 'Initially', 'Afterthat', 'Then', 'Afterwards', and 'Finally' are used to guide the reader through the steps. However, paragraphing is somewhat inadequate, as the text is clumped into an introduction and a single large body block rather than being structured into clear paragraphs. Additionally, referencing is occasionally mechanical, and the use of imperative phrasing ('Cover bottom hole', 'Make sure water stay') detracts slightly from the formal academic tone required for this task.
Lexical Resource: Band 5.5
The vocabulary used is minimally adequate for the task, allowing the student to describe the basic actions of building the clock. There are attempts to use less common vocabulary and task-specific terms, such as 'interval', 'constant level', and 'timing'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'droping water' instead of 'dripping water', 'in the beneath of bottle' instead of 'at the base', and 'water stay at constant level' omitting necessary articles and prepositions. Spelling is generally acceptable, but these lexical slips and awkward phrasings cause some minor difficulty for the reader.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5
The writing demonstrates a limited range of sentence structures, relying primarily on simple sentences and direct instructions rather than a balanced mix of complex forms. There are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, particularly regarding articles ('illustrates process', 'begains with droping water into plastic bottle'), subject-verb agreement ('process consist'), and prepositions ('reaching to another'). Attempts at complex or dependent clauses are sometimes faulty, such as in the restrictive clause 'a plastic bottle which has two holes in it', though punctuation errors persist throughout, including missing spaces after periods. These frequent errors require the reader to occasionally puzzle over the meaning.
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