Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-04
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 Raj,
I'm writing this in regards to the camping trip that you're about to take this summer. I'm delighted to hear that you've decided to finally take a leap after all those second thoughts.
A camping outing is always a surreal and an enriching experience. From all the trips that I've been on I can assure you that its gonna be eventful, full of uncertainities yet extremely amusing and deeply fulfilling. Knowing you I'm pretty sure that staying in woods, in direct contact with nature, you'll enjoy this stint to the core and return back with a content soul.
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 2.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.0 |
| Lexical Resource | 6.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 6.5 |
| Overall | 5.0 |
Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 2.5
The response sits at a very low level for this criterion because it is severely incomplete. The text contains only one hundred words, falling well short of the minimum one hundred and fifty word requirement. Furthermore, the content only partially addresses the prompt. While the writer touches briefly upon why the friend might enjoy a camping holiday, the letter completely fails to describe any possible disadvantages and omits any mention of whether the writer would like to go camping with the friend this summer. To lift this criterion significantly, the writer must fully address all three bullet points provided in the task instructions and ensure the length requirement is successfully met.
Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.0
The response demonstrates some basic organization with an appropriate opening salutation and a natural flow between ideas, fitting the mid-level criteria. The arrangement of the text is generally coherent overall, moving logically from the initial greeting into the main points about the camping experience. However, referencing and cohesive devices are somewhat basic, and the very short nature of the text limits the demonstration of advanced paragraphing or logical progression across multiple well-developed bodies. To improve cohesion, the writer should use a wider variety of linking words and transitional phrases to connect ideas more smoothly and structure the letter into clearer, distinct paragraphs.
Lexical Resource: Band 6.5
The response shows an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully attempting less common items and showing a good stylistic awareness suitable for an informal letter. Words and phrases such as surreal, enriching experience, eventful, amusing, and content soul demonstrate a vocabulary score that bridges competence and flexibility. There are minor spelling and word choice slips, such as writing uncertainities instead of uncertainties, and the colloquial expression its gonna, but these do not impede communication. To reach a higher band, the writer needs to demonstrate a more precise and consistently accurate control of sophisticated lexical items without relying on informal contractions.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.5
The response exhibits a functional mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating good control overall. The writer successfully uses structures like relative clauses and participial phrases, such as in direct contact with nature, you'll enjoy this stint. There are some minor grammatical errors and punctuation slips, including the missing apostrophe in its and the slightly awkward phrasing return back, which is redundant. However, these errors rarely impede communication and the majority of sentences maintain clear grammatical control. To achieve a higher score, the writer should incorporate a wider variety of complex grammatical structures with increased frequency of error-free sentences.
See this exact question answered at other band scores. The same prompt compared across bands.
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