Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-09-09

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 Alia ,

I hope you're doing well , I am terribly excited with news that you are goinron a camp holiday .

Well it's your very first experience , I am glad that you asked my advice .

I am sure that you'll definitely enjoy your camping holiday . It would be a unique activity for you .

You'll spend your night in camp . There'll be a pleasant and peaceful environment . Take some edibles with you and You can arrange a barbecue night , moreover, in my opinion you have to take badminton and cards with yourself so that you can play there .

There are some demerits of camping , As rain can occur any time you have to take some umbrella and extra clothes with you . You should prepare a bag with every essential like torch , water bottle , medicine kit , in it

I would like to join camping with you . But I am busy in meetings now a days but I'll try my Best to join you for camping.

Enjoy your holidays.

Your friend,

Saba .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The response addresses all three bullet points of the prompt: explaining why the friend would enjoy camping, describing disadvantages, and stating whether the writer would like to join. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the explanation of why the friend would enjoy camping is quite brief, and the list of disadvantages is limited to weather and packing. To reach a higher band, you should expand on your points with more detail or personal anecdotes to fully develop the ideas rather than just listing them.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical sections, and the progression of ideas is generally clear. You use some cohesive devices such as 'moreover' and 'but', though some transitions feel a bit mechanical or abrupt. Paragraphing is present, but the structure could be improved by separating the three main requirements into distinct, well-defined paragraphs to enhance readability. The referencing is generally clear, and the letter follows a standard informal format, which helps the reader follow your train of thought without difficulty.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'environment', 'essential', and 'demerits'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'goinron' (a typo for 'going on') and 'join camping with you' (should be 'join you on the camping trip'). The vocabulary is functional but lacks the variety and precision required for higher bands. To improve, try to use more natural collocations and avoid repetitive phrasing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is generally clear, there are frequent errors in punctuation, capitalization, and grammar. For instance, 'I am busy in meetings now a days' should be 'I am busy with meetings nowadays', and there are several instances of missing or misplaced commas and spaces. These errors are noticeable but do not significantly impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent punctuation, particularly around conjunctions and sentence endings.

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

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