Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · 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 5.0)

The diagram involved eight stages the process for making a water clock.

Overall, The process begin with tap on and end in empty and repeat process for timming things.The process goes through cover hole, fill top bottle, level constant, finger away and levels per minute.

in first stage, something metal or plastic use to release water in drops thats known as tap on and put finger on hole to stop the flow of water .first plastic bottle fill with water and use straw stick with glue on the upper bottle for overflow water release.Furthermore level of water keep stable on a certain level.

Now level of water is stable and finger from the hole will remove to start flow of water.on the 2nd plastic bottle different measurement points are written so now level of water will be check per minute to calculate time .now emptly plastic bottle and repeat the process for timing things agian

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response addresses the task only partially because it attempts to describe a 7-stage process diagram for making a water clock, but the information is frequently unclear, mechanically listed, and under-developed. While there is a basic outline of the steps—such as mentioning the tap, covering the hole, and marking levels on the second bottle—the reporting lacks clarity and precise selection of key visual features. The overview provided in the second sentence is disjointed and merely stitches together raw labels from the diagram ('tap on', 'empty and repeat') rather than giving a cohesive summary of how the entire apparatus functions to measure time. To reach a higher standard, the writer needs to select the most significant stages of the process and present a fully developed, logical overview of how water flows through the system from the upper container to the calibrated lower container.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response shows some basic organisation, with an introductory statement, a rough overview, and subsequent paragraphs attempting to trace the stages, but there is no clear overall progression. Cohesive devices are used awkwardly or repetitively, such as the frequent mechanical transitions ('Furthermore', 'Now', 'in first stage') that feel forced and do not establish natural logical links between sentences. Referencing is also weak, making it difficult to follow which bottle or component is being referred to at various points. Paragraphing is disjointed, with ideas running together without proper structural separation. To improve, the writer should use a wider variety of accurate cohesive links, ensure clear referencing pronouns, and group sentences into coherent paragraphs that follow the chronological flow of the diagram naturally.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is limited and minimally adequate for the task. The writer relies heavily on basic, repetitive terms and direct copying of labels from the visual prompt, such as 'tap on', 'cover hole', and 'level constant'. There are noticeable lexical errors and awkward collocations that cause some difficulty for the reader, including 'timming things', 'something metal or plastic use to release water', and 'emptly plastic bottle'. Word formation errors are also present, such as 'emptly' instead of 'empty'. To achieve a higher band, the writer must expand their vocabulary range, use less common technical terms with greater precision (such as 'calibrated container', 'overflow pipe', or 'apparatus'), and ensure accurate word spelling and form throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response demonstrates a very limited range of grammatical structures, relying mostly on simple sentences with frequent errors in complex and compound forms. There are persistent errors across multiple areas, including missing articles ('in first stage', 'on 2nd plastic bottle'), incorrect verb forms ('plastic bottle fill with water', 'straw stick with glue'), faulty prepositions ('release water in drops'), and punctuation issues. These frequent errors disrupt the flow of reading and can occasionally cause difficulty in understanding the intended meaning. To progress, the writer needs to practice forming accurate complex sentences using subordinate clauses, improve control over verb tenses and passive voice structures necessary for process descriptions, and pay closer attention to basic grammatical agreements, articles, and prepositions.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.