Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-11-07

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

A friend of yours is thinking of going on a camping holiday for the first time this summer. He/She has asked for your advice. Write a letter to your friend. In your letter

• explain why you think your friend would enjoy a camping holiday
• describe some possible disadvantages
• say whether you would like to go camping with your friend this summer

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ................. ,

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Dow,

I hope you and your family are doing well. I am so excited for you to go on your first ever camping trip. I know how much you love to be in nature and smore.This will be your best ever holiday.

Just a head's up, you should pack mosquito repelent and some extra groceries, specifically, couple extra packs of water bottles, since It's going to be humid and hot on the day you are planning to camp. If you can i would advice to delay your trip for a month, because not only the penticton area is on forest fire alert , but its is bear season. People have reported high brown bear activity in that area.

I myself have deffered my plans to camp this summer, mainly because of forest fires,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

You address the main situation and give relevant advice: you explain that your friend enjoys nature and s’mores, mention heat, mosquitoes, forest-fire risk and bears, and say you have postponed your own camping plans. However, the required points are not all fully handled. The disadvantages are clearer than the reasons your friend would enjoy the trip, and your final paragraph does not directly say whether you would go with your friend; it only says you have deferred your plans. The response is also 16 words below the required minimum, which limits how fully you can develop the ideas. Add a direct answer about joining them and expand the enjoyment point with a specific example.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter has a recognisable sequence: a friendly opening, practical advice about preparation and local risks, and a closing comment about your own plans. The paragraph breaks help distinguish these stages, and phrases such as “Just a head’s up” signal a shift to advice. However, the progression is incomplete because the final point does not clearly resolve whether you would camp with your friend, and the response ends abruptly with a comma. Some links within the long advice sentence are awkward, particularly “since” followed by the weather detail and then the recommendation to delay. Use separate sentences to make the advice easier to follow, and finish with a clear closing line.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for an informal letter, including relevant expressions such as “first ever camping trip,” “forest fire alert,” and “high brown bear activity.” The tone is generally friendly and appropriate, and the reader can understand the practical concerns. There are, however, several spelling and word-choice errors, including “repelent,” “deffered,” and “advice” where the verb “advise” is needed. “Extra groceries” is also imprecise when you mean extra drinking water. These slips do not prevent understanding, but they reduce accuracy. Check spelling carefully and choose specific collocations, such as “insect repellent” and “a couple of extra packs of bottled water.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex sentence forms. For example, “If you can, I would advise you to delay your trip for a month” uses a conditional structure, while “because not only … but …” attempts to connect reasons. Meaning is generally clear, but some grammatical and punctuation errors remain. In “I know how much you love to be in nature and smore,” the items are not joined clearly; “a couple extra packs” needs “of”; and “If you can i” requires a capital “I.” The sentence beginning “because not only” is also awkwardly constructed. Use complete, clearly punctuated sentences and check articles, prepositions and parallel structures.

See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.