Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-12

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 5.0)

Dear Tommy,

I hope you're in excellent condition. I am writing this letter because I heard you are considering going outdoors this summer for the very first time. I have been to many places and I would love to help you out by giving you some crucial tips.

Ideally, you don't need too many items for your first trip. According to me, only take what you can carry for the long run, and also don't get tired of it. My list consists of a flare gun, a full-size bag which should easily attach to your body, a whistle for emergencies also to get rid of animals, and natural clothing, preferably cotton, as it does not irritate your skin.

Sometimes camping outdoors is not fun. As you don't have any access to internet services neither you have

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 4.0

The response fails to address all parts of the task. While you mention why camping is enjoyable and list some disadvantages, the letter is incomplete. You did not address the final bullet point regarding whether you would like to join your friend, and the letter ends abruptly mid-sentence. Furthermore, the response is under the 150-word minimum requirement. To improve, ensure you cover every bullet point in the prompt and provide a complete, balanced response. The content provided is relevant, but the lack of closure and failure to address the final instruction significantly impacts the task achievement score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter shows some attempt at logical organization, with an introduction and a body paragraph. However, the abrupt ending makes it impossible to judge the overall coherence of the piece. Cohesive devices are used in a basic way, such as 'Ideally' and 'According to me', but the flow is interrupted by the incomplete nature of the text. To reach a higher band, you must ensure that your ideas are fully developed and connected with a clear progression, leading to a natural conclusion that ties the letter together.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is generally adequate for a simple letter, using phrases like 'crucial tips' and 'irritate your skin'. However, there are some unnatural collocations, such as 'in excellent condition' (which sounds like a description of a machine rather than a person) and 'get rid of animals' (which is slightly ambiguous in this context). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and repetitive. To improve, try to incorporate more precise adjectives and idiomatic expressions that are appropriate for an informal letter to a friend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. There are some grammatical errors, such as 'neither you have' which should be 'nor do you have'. The sentence 'According to me' is also slightly unnatural; 'In my opinion' would be more standard. While the errors do not completely impede communication, the incomplete nature of the sentences at the end of the text makes it difficult to assess your control over complex structures. Focus on subject-verb agreement and using more varied sentence connectors to improve your accuracy.

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

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