Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Cambridge IELTS 15 · 2026-10-10

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 Sarah,

I hope you are doing well. Happy to hear that you are going on camping holiday for the first time this summer. I am writing this letter to suggest you some ideas about camping.

Firstly, I would like to mention its really good that you were going for campoinmg during summewr time and in holidays. You will enjoy campiong because you love nature and outdoor activities. It helps you to relax as well.

Secondly, I would like to mention some disadvantages about the camping. The whether will change suddenly and there will be no much facilities to use washrooms. So, I will suggest you to keep some winter clothes as well.

Lastly, I waqnterd to say that I would also like to go for camping with my friends tgis summer. If you would like we can go all together. We could able to enjoy.

Thank you for your time.

Best wishes,

John

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

You address all three requested points: you explain that Sarah may enjoy nature and outdoor activities, mention changing weather and limited washroom facilities, and say you would like to join her. However, these ideas are brief and need more development—for example, explain how camping could help her relax or what practical difficulties the facilities might cause. Your invitation, “we can go all together,” gives a clear response, though the wording could be more direct. The response contains 146 words, so it is four words below the 150-word minimum; the eight words copied from the task prompt are not counted. Add relevant detail to each point while meeting the required length.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: an opening, separate sections introduced by “Firstly,” “Secondly,” and “Lastly,” and a suitable closing. This makes the three main points easy to locate. However, the repeated sequencing words make the progression somewhat mechanical, and some links between ideas are unclear. For instance, the advice to pack winter clothes follows the point about changing weather, but the connection could be explained more smoothly. The sentence “If you would like we can go all together” also needs clearer punctuation and phrasing. Use a wider range of natural links, and make sure each paragraph develops one point before moving to the next.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

You use enough relevant vocabulary to communicate the main ideas, including “nature,” “outdoor activities,” “disadvantages,” and “facilities.” However, the range is limited, and several noticeable spelling and word-choice errors reduce accuracy, such as “campoinmg,” “campiong,” “summewr,” and “whether” where you mean “weather.” Some phrases are also unnatural, including “suggest you some ideas about camping” and “go for camping.” These errors do not prevent the reader from understanding the overall message, but they make the letter less fluent. Build a small set of accurate collocations for camping and advice, and proofread carefully for spelling and word forms.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

You use mostly short, simple sentences, with a few attempts to connect ideas, such as “You will enjoy camping because you love nature and outdoor activities.” The meaning is generally understandable, but errors occur in basic sentence patterns and verb forms. For example, “Happy to hear that you are going on camping holiday” lacks a subject and has an incorrect article/preposition pattern; “I would also like to go for camping” has an inaccurate verb pattern; and “We could able to enjoy” combines modal forms incorrectly. The conditional “If you would like we can go all together” also needs punctuation and a more controlled structure. Practise accurate sentence patterns and vary them gradually.

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

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