Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-17

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 following picture illustrates the complete procedure of builing an own water clock. It includes 7 stages, staring from water supply and end to the empty and repeat.

First of all, supply water using tap.Put a plastic bottle, taped with the stand.Attach a straw with glue on one side of bottle.Turn on tap, then cover the hole at the bottom of plastic bottle using finger until it is filled and over flowed.

Soon water will start flowing throw straw and after some time water level will get constent. Then put your finger away from the hole which is the important stage of the process.Water will start dropping in another, neck cut off, plastic bottle placed at the bottom of the stand.In the second last stage note down the levels of water per minute.In the final stage empty the bottle and repeat the process for timing things.

This the whole method throw which you can make a water clock for timing things.All steps must be done in the order and completely without any carelessness.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

The report covers the main sequence, from turning on the tap and filling the upper bottle to marking water levels and repeating the process. It also includes relevant construction details, such as attaching the bottle to a stand and fixing a straw to its side. However, some stages are not described precisely: the finger is placed over the hole before filling, and the water is allowed to overflow through the straw until its level becomes constant. The explanation of the calibration stage is also unclear in “note down the levels of water per minute”; the diagram indicates marking levels on the lower bottle. A clearer overview of how the apparatus works, followed by a more exact account of these stages, would make the description more complete.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information follows the process in a generally logical order, and sequencing expressions such as “First of all,” “Soon,” “In the second last stage,” and “In the final stage” help the reader track the steps. The response also moves from construction to operation and then to the repeated timing process. This gives it a coherent overall progression. However, the stages are presented in one dense block, and some transitions make the sequence harder to follow—for example, “Turn on tap, then cover the hole” does not clearly distinguish the preparation from filling. Use separate paragraphs for the apparatus and its operation, and refer to the upper and lower bottles consistently to strengthen cohesion and clarity.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses a basic range of process vocabulary, including “procedure,” “stages,” “attached,” “flowing,” and “repeat,” which is enough to communicate the general method. However, several inaccurate or awkward choices reduce precision: “builing” and “staring” are misspelled, “flowing throw straw” uses the wrong word, and “over flowed” is not the appropriate form here. Some phrases are also unnatural, such as “make a water clock for timing things” and “the whole method throw which.” Choose precise process terms and check spelling and collocations. For example, describe water as “overflowing through the straw” and say that the lower bottle is used to “measure elapsed time.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

There are attempts to combine steps using clauses and sequencing, as in “Turn on tap, then cover the hole … until it is filled,” and the overall meaning is usually recoverable. However, sentence structures are limited and several grammatical errors recur. Articles and sentence formation are missing in “Put a plastic bottle, taped with the stand” and “This the whole method”; the latter needs a verb. The opening also has an awkward construction in “procedure of builing an own water clock.” Punctuation is inconsistent, with missing spaces after full stops and commas joining instructions without clear sentence boundaries. Practise complete imperative sentences and accurate articles, and use a wider range of controlled complex structures to explain the sequence.

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