Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · IELTS Complete Catalyst · 2026-11-04

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 figure illustrates the procress of making a water clock.

Overall, this is a seven-staged process. Starting from tapping on the water, covering the hole of plastic bottle with finger attached with tape to a stand . Another plastic bottle is there to collect the drops of water dripping from first bottle. The process is repeated for the timing things.

Process starts from two plastic bottles, one have a hole on the bottom attached to the stand with a tape. Second bottle is with neck cut off on the bottom of the stand collecting the water. The tap is on and water is going into the first bottle.The hole of the bottle is covered with the finger so that the bottle will fill up with water. To keep the level of water constant, a straw is attached with the top bottle with the help of glue. This straw will prevent the bottle from overflowing.

At stage 5, the finger on the hole of top is put away so that the water drops will go down to the bottom bottle. Levels per minute are then noticed for the timming purpose. Then the process repeated by emptying the bottom bottle.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

You cover the main stages and give a clear overall summary that the process has seven stages and is repeated for timing. The account correctly describes the tap, the upper bottle, the overflow straw, the lower collecting bottle, and the release of water at stage five. This meets the task well, though some details are less fully explained: for example, the diagram’s instruction to cover the hole before filling the upper bottle to overflow is not presented as a clearly numbered sequence, and “levels per minute” is mentioned without explaining that these are marked on the lower bottle. To strengthen the report further, describe the apparatus and stages in a more precise, complete order, including the calibration marks and the final emptying and repetition.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The response has a recognisable structure: an introduction, an overview, and a description of the equipment and later stages. The sequence is generally understandable, and phrases such as “At stage 5” help locate the reader in the process. However, progression is not consistently clear. The overview combines several early actions in a fragment beginning “Starting from tapping on the water,” while the next paragraph restarts with “Process starts,” creating repetition rather than a smooth step-by-step account. Some links between ideas are also unclear, particularly “Another plastic bottle is there” and “Then the process repeated.” Organise the body in the diagram’s exact order and use clear transitions such as “Next,” “Once the bottle is full,” and “Finally.”

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use relevant process vocabulary, including “collect,” “dripping,” “overflowing,” and “attached,” so the reader can identify the main components and actions. There is some useful variation in describing the water’s movement, but several choices are imprecise or unnatural for a process report: “tapping on the water” does not clearly mean turning on the tap, and “levels per minute are then noticed” is an awkward description of recording the water level. Spelling errors such as “procress” and “timming” also reduce accuracy. Aim for precise technical phrasing and check spelling; for example, describe the water as “dripping into the lower bottle” and the marks as “calibration lines.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You attempt both simple and more complex structures, including purpose clauses such as “so that the bottle will fill up with water.” However, control is uneven, and several sentence patterns are incomplete or inaccurate. “Starting from tapping on the water, covering the hole…” is a fragment, while “one have a hole” has incorrect subject–verb agreement. Other examples include “Second bottle is with neck cut off” and “Then the process repeated,” where articles and verb forms are missing. Punctuation and spacing also need attention, as in “bottle.The.” Practise writing complete sentences with a clear subject and verb, and check articles, agreement, and past or passive forms when describing each stage.

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