Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-09

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You are walking home through Oak Lane on Tuesday evening when you find a dog without anyone nearby. Its collar has the name and address of your neighbour, Mr Lewis, who you know only slightly. You take the dog to your flat because it is raining, but you are unsure whether he is at home.

Write a letter to Mr Lewis. In your letter

• explain where and when you found the dog
• describe what you have done to look after it since finding it
• ask him to collect the dog or suggest another way to return it

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ...............,

Student answer (Band 6.5)

Dear Lewis,

On tuesday evening when I was walking back home in the rain through Oak Lane, on my way back from work. I found a dog with a red collar lost alone drenched in rain and shivering from cold at the corner of the street. Upon further inspecting the dog's collar, it had a silver tag attached with the dog's name and its address mentioned in them.

The dogs name is buttercup but the dog's address matches with your address. I assume the dog belongs to you. Since it was raining and the dog was shivering feeling cold. I took the dog to my flat and pat it down dry and fed him some leftover food as I dont have any dog food. I am unsure whether you are at home. Please let know when you would like to collect the dog or suggest an alternative way on returning the dog. As I would be commuting to my office tomorrow morning.

with regards

Hariraj

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three required points: you explain that you found the dog on Oak Lane on Tuesday evening, describe bringing it inside, drying it and feeding it, and ask Mr Lewis to arrange collection or suggest another return method. The details about the red collar, tag and the dog shivering make the situation clear and support your actions. Your request is also practical because you mention your commute the following morning. To make the response more fully developed, clarify whether Mr Lewis should contact you before collecting the dog and give a specific way to reach you. The greeting “Dear Lewis” is understandable, though “Dear Mr Lewis” would better suit a neighbour you know only slightly.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The information follows a sensible sequence: finding the dog, identifying its owner, explaining its care, and asking what should happen next. This gives the letter a clear overall progression, and phrases such as “Since it was raining” help connect your actions to the circumstances. However, the opening is broken by a sentence fragment: “On Tuesday evening … through Oak Lane, on my way back from work.” The care details and request are also crowded into one paragraph, while the closing is separated without consistent capitalisation. Use distinct paragraphs for the discovery, care, and request, and connect ideas with complete sentences rather than relying on repeated references to the dog.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the situation clearly, including descriptive terms such as “drenched,” “shivering,” and “silver tag.” These details make the account specific, and the tone is generally suitable for a personal letter. Some choices are imprecise or awkward, however: “pat it down dry” is not a natural expression, and “an alternative way on returning the dog” is an unnatural collocation. “The dog's address mentioned in them” is also unclear, while “leftover food” is rather vague. Aim for more natural combinations and precise wording, such as saying you dried the dog with a towel and asking how Mr Lewis would prefer to have it returned.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The letter attempts both simple and more complex sentence forms, and the reader can generally follow the events. However, several sentence-boundary and punctuation problems reduce accuracy. The opening begins with “On Tuesday evening” but has no main clause before the full stop; join it to “I found a dog” or restructure it as one complete sentence. “Since it was raining and the dog was shivering feeling cold” is another incomplete sentence, and “Please let know” is missing an object. There are also errors in possessives and agreement, as in “The dogs name” and “fed him” after referring to “the dog.” Check sentence completeness, apostrophes, and consistent pronoun reference when editing.

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

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