Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-09

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 7.5)

The diagram illustrates the process of building a water clock.

Overall, the construction of a water clock requires two plastic bottles, a straw, glue, tape and a stand. The seven-step process start from assembling the apparatus to calibrating it to measure time.

First, the apparatus is set up. A bottle is placed on the base of a stand with its neck cut off. A hole is made at the base of another bottle and it is suspended with the vertical arm of the stand, with its cap pointing upward, using a tape. A straw is attached to the bottle which indicates the constant water level. The whole complex is placed under a tap.

The tap is turned on. The hole is covered with a finger until the water starts to overflow through the straw that acts as a level constant. Subsequently, the finger is removed from the hole in the bottle allowing the water to flow into the second plastic bottle at the base of the stand. As the water flows, marks are made on the lower bottle to show the level of water per minute. Finally, the bottles are emptied and the process is repeated for timing other things.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The report covers the main stages and gives a clear overview: it identifies the materials and describes the sequence from assembling the apparatus to marking the lower bottle and repeating the process. The account is generally faithful to the diagram, including the cut-off neck, the straw’s overflow role and the finger being removed to start the flow. Some details are imprecise, however. The upper bottle is described as having its cap pointing upward, although the diagram shows it open beneath the tap, and the straw is said to indicate the constant water level rather than drain overflow once that level is reached. Clarifying these points and distinguishing the setup from the numbered operating stages would make the description more precise.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.5

The information is organised effectively into an introduction, an overview and two chronological paragraphs. The progression from setting up the bottles to operating the clock is easy to follow, and sequencing expressions such as “First,” “Subsequently” and “Finally” help guide the reader. The overview also prepares the reader for the stages that follow. Some links could be more exact: “The tap is turned on” begins a new paragraph after the setup without explicitly connecting the apparatus to the numbered procedure, while “the hole” and “the bottle” could occasionally be specified more clearly when both bottles are being discussed. A slightly more deliberate transition into the operating sequence would make cohesion smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 7.0

The response uses a suitable range of process vocabulary, including “suspended,” “overflow,” “calibrating” and “apparatus,” and most choices communicate the procedure clearly. There is some flexibility in describing both construction and operation. A few expressions are imprecise or awkward in this context: “the whole complex” is not a natural term for the assembled equipment, and “level constant” does not clearly convey the straw’s overflow function. “Marks are made … to show the level of water per minute” is understandable but could more precisely describe calibration marks corresponding to elapsed time. Choosing more conventional technical collocations would improve precision and naturalness while retaining the report’s clear style.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 7.0

There is a useful mix of simple and complex structures, including the relative clause in “a straw … which indicates” and the participial phrase “allowing the water to flow.” Most sentences are clear, and punctuation is generally controlled. A few grammatical slips remain. In the overview, “The seven-step process start” has a subject–verb agreement error; use “starts.” In “suspended with the vertical arm of the stand,” the preposition does not express the intended attachment clearly; a construction such as “attached to the vertical arm” would be more accurate. The long sentence beginning “A hole is made…” also contains several linked details, so separating the attachment and orientation into clearer clauses would strengthen control of complex sentences.

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