Band 4.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 4.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-10-26

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

HOW TO BUILD YOUR OWN WATER CLOCK

Student answer (Band 4.5)

How to build your own water clock.

There are some stages o developed your own water clock the first stage is tap on which is covered on plastice bottle fill in the glue. And these all are bined with stand and fill bottle from glue to overflow to a level constant and finger away from hole and put a straw in bottle and in the last there is one whole in bottle the glue is throwing down in another glass or plastic bottle.And finger away from hole and level per minute empty and repeat process for timing things .these is all process of creating our own water clock.

AI examiner evaluation

CriterionBand
Task Achievement / Task Response4.0
Coherence and Cohesion4.0
Lexical Resource4.5
Grammatical Range and Accuracy4.5
Overall4.5

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.0

You identify the subject as making a water clock and mention several relevant stages, including turning on the tap, filling the upper bottle, letting water pass through a hole, and repeating the process for timing. However, the process is only minimally described, and some details are inaccurate or unclear: for example, the bottle is not “covered on” with glue, and the water is not “throwing down” into a glass. The key arrangement—an upper bottle fixed to a stand, an overflow straw, and a lower bottle marked with calibration lines—is not explained clearly. The response also falls 42 words short of the required minimum, limiting the detail provided. A fuller, accurate account of the setup and sequence would address the task more effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 4.0

There is a basic attempt to follow the process from beginning to end, and the final reference to emptying and repeating gives the report a sense of closure. However, nearly all the information is compressed into one long sentence, so the reader has difficulty distinguishing the equipment from the stages. The sequence also becomes repetitive: “finger away from hole” appears twice, and “level per minute” is not clearly connected to the water-level markings. Linking words such as “first,” “next,” and “finally” could help, but the main improvement is to separate the setup from the operating steps and present each stage in a clear order. As written, ideas are not arranged coherently enough.

Lexical Resource: Band 4.5

The response uses a small set of relevant words, including “tap,” “bottle,” “stand,” “straw,” and “hole,” which helps identify the general topic. However, vocabulary is basic and repetitive, and several inaccurate choices strain understanding. “The glue is throwing down” appears to confuse glue with water, while “one whole” seems intended to mean “a hole.” “Bined” is also not an appropriate word for describing how the parts are joined. Use precise process vocabulary such as “attach,” “drip,” “overflow,” and “mark” to describe the apparatus and its operation. Careful spelling and word choice would make the stages much easier to follow.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 4.5

You attempt to connect several stages in a sentence, but the response relies on a very limited range of sentence structures, and frequent grammatical errors sometimes obscure the meaning. For example, “There are some stages o developed your own water clock” lacks a clear grammatical construction, while “these all are bined with stand” has problems with word order and sentence structure. The long sequence beginning “the first stage is tap on” also lacks clear sentence boundaries, making it difficult to see where one instruction ends and the next begins. Practise writing short, complete sentences in the present simple, such as “Water drips through a hole into the lower bottle.” Check articles, verb forms, and punctuation.

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