Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-15

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You are planning a business trip to another city. You will have some free time to do some sightseeing while you are there.
 

Write a letter to a friend who lives in the city you will visit. In your letter:
• explain the purpose of the trip.
• ask about things to do and see in the city.
• invite your friend to do something with you during your visit.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ____

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear jack

I hope your health is good. I,m writing letter related to the trip, i will come to in your city next week with my cusion. i know your city rishikesh is renowend in india for touristers. Therefore, i will come to rishikesh for one week.

I have long cherished desire to visit beautiful land rishikesh and participate in international yoga festival.

Moreover, i want to see the ganges river and like to join evening prayer. likewise, i want to observe ancient tempales and learn about there roots. During last call coversation with you, you said that in this city have old rajij national park were have number of animals such as Amrican elephant , bengali lion as well russian tiger, hence i want see these animals.

Furthermore, without you i will not enjoy, as you come with me this trip and it is help for me explore easy the place because you familier this city more than me.

I hope you will come with me while visiting your city .

see you soon.

param

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: the purpose of the trip, sightseeing interests, and an invitation to the friend. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat inconsistent. While the purpose is clear, the request for sightseeing suggestions is overshadowed by the writer listing their own plans. Furthermore, the invitation is phrased in a way that is slightly confusing, as it implies the friend is a local guide rather than a peer. To improve, ensure that the tone remains consistently friendly and that the request for advice is more explicitly stated as a question to the recipient.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into a single block of text, which lacks the paragraphing necessary for a clear structure. While there is a logical progression from the purpose of the trip to the specific activities and the invitation, the lack of paragraph breaks makes the text feel cluttered. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover', 'Likewise', and 'Furthermore', but they are sometimes used mechanically or inappropriately, such as 'likewise' to introduce a new sightseeing interest. Improving the use of paragraphing and ensuring that transition words connect ideas more naturally would significantly enhance the flow of the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but shows limited range and several inaccuracies. There are spelling errors such as 'cusion' (cousin), 'rishikesh' (should be capitalized), 'renowend' (renowned), 'tempales' (temples), and 'familier' (familiar). Additionally, there are factual and colocation issues, such as 'bengali lion' and 'russian tiger', which are not standard terms and suggest a lack of precision. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequent spelling and word-choice errors prevent the response from reaching a higher band. Focusing on accurate spelling and learning common collocations will help improve this score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The response contains a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentences, but grammatical control is weak. There are frequent errors in punctuation, capitalization, and sentence structure, such as 'I,m writing letter related to the trip' and 'you said that in this city have old rajij national park'. Subject-verb agreement and article usage are also inconsistent throughout the text. While the errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to cause difficulty for the reader. To improve, focus on basic sentence construction, correct use of articles, and consistent verb tense usage.

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

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