Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-07

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 displays the method for preparing a water clock. Make a report for a university lecturer that contained information of building a water clock for your own.

Overall, it is clear that this method passes through 7 stages. Open the tap and cover the hole with finger until the bottle from top filled. Remove finger when the level become stable and check this for every minute.

Firstly, open the tap. Cover the bottom hole of the plastic bottle with a finger. Attach the straw with glue at the point where you want to fill the bottle. Fill the bottle untill the water started to overflow from the straw. Use the tape for the constant level.

Now remove a finger from the hole and keep another bottle under the plastic bottle. Make sure that the neck of another bottle should cut off. At the end, check the level of water of the bottle per minute untill water finished from the above bottle.

It is noted that whole procedure needs a stand which is used to attach these bottles.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The response covers the main purpose and sequence: it identifies seven stages, describes filling the upper bottle until water overflows, releasing the hole, and monitoring the lower bottle. These details show a generally relevant account of the process. However, some construction details are inaccurate or unclear. The straw is fixed near the top as an overflow drain, rather than simply attached “at the point where you want to fill”; the tape secures the upper bottle to the stand, not “for the constant level.” The account also omits the lower bottle’s calibration marks and the final instruction to empty it and repeat the process. A clearer overview of how the apparatus measures time, followed by more precise descriptions of these features, would make the report more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure, moving from an introduction and overview to a sequence of steps and a final note about the stand. “Firstly,” “Now,” and “At the end” help signal progression, and the stages are mostly presented in a sensible order. However, the overview repeats several instructions that appear again in the body, while the body itself does not consistently distinguish construction from operation. Some links are also unclear: “check this” does not specify what is being checked, and “another bottle” makes the apparatus harder to follow. Grouping the equipment and assembly first, then explaining the operating sequence, would create a clearer progression and reduce repetition.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is sufficient to communicate the basic process, with relevant terms such as “plastic bottle,” “straw,” “overflow,” “stand,” and “level.” However, several choices are imprecise or unnatural for describing a diagram. “Preparing a water clock” is less exact than “constructing” or “assembling” one, and “check the level of water … per minute” does not clearly express measuring elapsed time. “Use the tape for the constant level” also confuses the function of the tape with the water level. Spelling errors such as “untill” occur more than once. Use precise process vocabulary and check spelling; for example, describe the straw as an “overflow outlet” and the marks as “calibration lines.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The response uses both short instructions and some longer sentences, but grammatical control is uneven. Errors include “a report … that contained information,” where the tense and clause construction are unsuitable, and “until the bottle from top filled,” which lacks a clear subject and auxiliary. There are also agreement and article problems in “the level become stable” and “cover the hole with finger.” The sentence “Make sure that the neck of another bottle should cut off” has a faulty modal construction and passive form. These issues sometimes make the instructions difficult to interpret, although the overall meaning is usually recoverable. Practise accurate passive instructions and consistent present-tense descriptions, such as “the neck of the lower bottle is cut off.”

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