Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · IELTS Predictions Nov 2026 · 2026-11-05

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 Mr lewis,

I am writing this letter to inform you that, I found your dog at the Oak Lane on Tuesday evening when I was walking back home from my work. I was able to recognize it because it had collar that has it's name and your address on it. Due to rain I brought him back to my apartment because I was not sure if you were home at that time.

I found you dog at the Oak Lane on Tuesday evening at around 6 p.m. It was alone and looked lost because it was walking around the block trying to get back home that's why I brought it with me. After I brought it home, I gave him bath because he was dirty from falling into the puddle then I fed him dog food that I got from PetSmart shop.

It would be great if you could come pick your dog from my place. If you can't come to my place for some reasons I am happy to drop it off at your residence. You can give me a call at my cell phone to discuss about it's return.

Yours Sincerely,

Bibek

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.5

The letter addresses all three requirements clearly: you explain that you found the dog on Oak Lane on Tuesday evening, describe bringing it indoors, bathing and feeding it, and ask Mr Lewis to collect it while offering to deliver it instead. These details make the purpose easy to understand, and the polite request suits a letter to a neighbour you know only slightly. The account is generally extended with relevant specifics, such as the approximate time and the dog being wet and dirty. To make the response more fully developed, clarify how Mr Lewis can arrange collection—for example, give a suitable time or a contact number—and avoid repeating the location and time in the first two paragraphs. The task is otherwise covered effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall arrangement: the opening explains why you are writing, the middle describes finding and caring for the dog, and the final paragraph proposes ways to return it. Paragraphing supports this progression, and links such as “After I brought it home” help show sequence. This meets the lower-band expectation of a coherent overall arrangement, with some evidence of the more flexible progression expected above it. However, the first two paragraphs repeat that the dog was found on Oak Lane on Tuesday evening, so the progression is not always efficient. The phrase “that's why” also joins several ideas in a crowded sentence. Reduce repetition and use clearer sentence boundaries and references to make the connections smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for the situation, including “collar,” “puddle,” “fed,” and “drop it off,” which communicate the key events and arrangements. The tone is generally appropriate and the reader can understand your meaning. There are, however, some imprecise or awkward choices: “walking back home from my work” is less natural than “walking home from work,” and “discuss about its return” uses an unnecessary preposition. “PetSmart shop” is also redundant, while “some reasons” is vague in this context. These examples show that your vocabulary is sufficient for the task, but collocation and precision are not consistently controlled. Aim for natural phrases such as “arrange its return” and “for any reason.”

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response includes a mix of simple and more complex sentence forms, such as the explanation beginning “Due to rain” and the conditional offer, “If you can't come to my place…”. Most meaning remains clear, and the sequence of events is understandable. Some grammatical errors remain, however. In “I found you dog,” the possessive determiner should be “your”; “it had collar” needs an article; and “I found your dog at the Oak Lane” has an unnecessary article before the street name. The sentence beginning “It was alone…” runs several clauses together, and the comma after “inform you that” is misplaced. Review articles, possessives, punctuation, and sentence boundaries to improve accuracy while retaining your range of structures.

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

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