Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-22

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 Alex,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to let you know that I will be visiting your city next month for a business trip. I will be attending an important meeting with some clients, and I will have a few days of free time after the meeting.

Since you live there, could you please suggest some interesting places to visit? I would especially like to see famous landmarks, parks, museums, and try some local food. I would also appreciate any recommendations for fun activities.

It would be great if you could join me during my free time. How about going sightseeing together and having dinner at a nice local restaurant? I think it would be a wonderful chance to catch up.

I am looking forward to seeing you soon.

Best wishes,

Nikul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The letter covers all three bullet points: the purpose of the trip is explained, recommendations are requested, and an invitation is extended. However, the response is 14 words under the 150-word minimum requirement. This under-length significantly impacts the development of ideas, as the content remains quite brief and lacks the necessary detail to fully satisfy the task requirements. To improve, you should expand on your ideas—for example, by describing the nature of the business meeting or providing more specific details about the types of food or landmarks you are interested in.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter is well-organized with a clear, logical progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific point from the prompt, and the transition between the purpose of the trip and the request for recommendations is smooth. You have used appropriate cohesive devices such as 'Since you live there' and 'It would be great if', which help the text flow naturally. The paragraphing is appropriate for a formal/semi-formal letter, and the tone is consistent throughout the piece.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary used is natural and appropriate for the context of a letter to a friend. You have used some good collocations such as 'important meeting', 'famous landmarks', and 'catch up'. While the range is adequate for the task, it is somewhat limited and lacks the more sophisticated or 'less common' lexical items that would push the score into the higher bands. To improve, try to incorporate more descriptive adjectives or idiomatic expressions that fit the semi-formal tone of the letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

Your grammar is very accurate, and the sentences are clear and easy to follow. You have successfully used a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the conditional 'It would be great if you could join me'. There are no noticeable grammatical errors, and your punctuation is correct throughout. To achieve a higher band, you could experiment with a wider variety of complex grammatical structures, such as passive voice or more varied subordinate clauses, while maintaining this high level of accuracy.

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

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