Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-08-25
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 Nadia,
I hope you are going great. I am happy to heard that you are planning to go on a vacation with your family for camping.
I also had a trip with my friends on our last day of university, We enjoyed a lot there as there are a lot of activities to do. You can enjoy hicking and the cold weather too. The food on these kind of vacation are very delicious you should try their local food item.
As you go with your family i must advice you to take warm cloths along. Moreover be careful about wild animas. You do not need to go outside without your family members.
I love to join you in your trip but i have an urgent meeting on my way which i have to attend.
I am sure you will have the best time of your life in this trip. My best wishes are with you. Good Luck.
Your friend,
Iqra khalid
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining why your friend would enjoy camping, describing potential disadvantages, and stating your availability to join. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, the ideas are somewhat underdeveloped. For instance, while you mention 'activities' and 'local food', these points could be expanded with more specific examples to better engage the reader. Additionally, the advice regarding wild animals and warm clothes is relevant but brief. To improve, try to elaborate on your points to provide a more comprehensive and helpful response to your friend.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the initial greeting to the advice and finally the conclusion. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'As you go', which help link your ideas. However, the paragraphing is quite limited; the entire body of the letter is essentially one block of text. Breaking your response into distinct paragraphs—one for each bullet point—would significantly improve the structure and readability of your letter. Additionally, some transitions feel slightly mechanical, and improving the flow between sentences would help the text feel more natural.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using words like 'vacation', 'activities', and 'urgent'. However, there are several errors in word choice and spelling that slightly hinder the flow, such as 'hicking' (hiking), 'animas' (animals), and 'cloths' (clothes). Furthermore, the phrase 'I hope you are going great' is slightly unnatural; 'I hope you are doing well' would be more standard. To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise vocabulary and ensuring correct spelling, as these minor errors occur frequently enough to be noticeable.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
You use a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text. Examples include 'I am happy to heard' (should be 'to hear'), 'The food on these kind of vacation are' (should be 'this kind of vacation is'), and 'I love to join you' (should be 'I would love to join you'). These errors are persistent and sometimes affect the clarity of your message. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of verb tenses. Proofreading your work for these common slips will help you achieve a higher score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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