Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-17

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 6.5)

Dear Armaan,1

hope you're doing well!

I'm writing to inform you that I'm visiting Vancouver city next week as I have an interview for IT job. I'll try my best to meet you there as I would have some free time.

I would like to know the best attractions of your city such as lakes, cafes, restaurants, parks and so on. As I'm visiting this city for the first time, I really wanna enjoy my trip despite my interview. Therefore, if you suggest me the places to visit that you know are fun visiting it will be easier for me to plan my visit ahead.

During my trip I really wanna spend some quality time with you. So I'm planning to go to a beach in your city and enjoy a day and preserve beautiful memories for future. Can't wait to meet you and have fun.

Yours truely,

Mandeep Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the purpose of your trip (an IT job interview), asked for recommendations regarding local attractions, and extended a clear invitation to your friend. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, maintaining a friendly and informal register throughout. The ideas are relevant and well-developed, ensuring the reader understands your intentions and needs for the visit. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more specific details about your interests or the timing of your trip to further flesh out the content.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a specific aspect of the prompt. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'Therefore', 'During my trip', and 'So' to link your ideas. The progression of information is clear, moving from the purpose of the visit to requests for information and finally to the invitation. To improve, you could incorporate a wider variety of linking words and ensure that the transition between sentences feels more natural rather than mechanical. Overall, the structure is easy to follow and serves the purpose of the letter well.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using terms like 'attractions', 'preserve', and 'quality time'. However, the vocabulary is somewhat basic and repetitive in places (e.g., 'visiting this city', 'visit your city'). There is a minor error in the closing: 'Yours truely' should be spelled 'Yours truly'. To achieve a higher score, try to incorporate more precise collocations and avoid repeating the same words in close proximity. Using more descriptive adjectives or varied verbs would enhance the sophistication of your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. There are some minor grammatical slips, such as 'I have an interview for IT job' (missing an article: 'an IT job') and 'if you suggest me the places' (the verb 'suggest' is typically followed by 'to' when an object is involved, e.g., 'suggest places to me'). Despite these errors, your meaning is always clear, and the punctuation is generally accurate. To improve, focus on article usage and refining the structure of complex sentences to ensure they are error-free.

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

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