Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-21

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 4.5)

The diagram shows how to make a water clock on our own.

First and for most collect few items required to build water clock, like two plastic bottels, tape, stand, glue, and straw.

First take a stand and place it to the water tap and tape one bottel on upper side of the stand and for bottom side tape a bottel with neck cut off then make a hole just upper certer of the bottel on top of the stand and glue it so it won't leak and make another small hole in bottom.

Turn on the tape water, it will fill upper bottel and slowly water drops fill fall from hole into lower bottel doing that extra water will flow out from the straw.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 3.5

The response identifies the general purpose of the diagram and mentions several relevant materials and actions, including the bottles, stand, straw, and water flowing into the lower container. However, it describes mainly the construction and initial filling, rather than reporting the full process. Important stages are missing: covering the hole while filling, allowing the water level to become constant, removing the finger, marking levels per minute, and emptying and repeating the process to time events. There are also factual inaccuracies, such as saying to tape the lower bottle to the stand and make a hole near the top; the diagram shows the lower bottle resting on the base and the hole at the upper bottle’s base. The report is also below the required 150 words. Include an overview and accurately describe all stages.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0

The response has a basic sequence, moving from collecting materials to assembling the apparatus and then turning on the tap. This gives the reader some sense of order, and the opening sentence establishes the topic. However, the report is presented as one paragraph, and the repeated use of “First” does not clearly distinguish the stages. The long assembly sentence combines several actions without clear boundaries, making the instructions difficult to follow. The final sentence adds a further action but does not explain how the clock is calibrated or used. Organise the report into a brief introduction and logically grouped stages, and use clear sequencing expressions such as “Next,” “Once assembled,” and “Finally.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The response uses some task-relevant vocabulary, including “stand,” “straw,” “neck cut off,” and “water drops,” so the basic subject is understandable. However, the range is limited and several choices are inaccurate or awkward: “water tap” is used where “tap” is sufficient, “tape one bottle” is unclear, and “water drops fill fall” makes the action difficult to interpret. There are also spelling errors, including “bottels” and “certer,” which reduce accuracy. Use more precise process vocabulary, such as “attach,” “overflow,” “drip,” and “mark calibration lines,” and check spelling. This would make the description clearer without requiring unnecessarily complex wording.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

The response attempts to describe a sequence using imperative verbs and some connected clauses, for example, “Turn on the tape water, it will fill upper bottel.” However, sentence structures are limited, and several sentences are run-ons or contain faulty clause connections. In “First take a stand and place it to the water tap and tape one bottel,” the actions are crowded together, while “water drops fill fall” does not form a grammatical verb phrase. Articles and prepositions are also often missing or inaccurate, as in “on upper side” and “into lower bottel.” Break the process into shorter sentences, use consistent present simple forms for general instructions, and check articles and sentence boundaries.

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