Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer
Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-23
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, Rahul
Hii Kashyap this side! Hope you’re doing well!
Im writing this letter to inform you that me and my cousins are visiting your city next week. We want to visit your town because of its beautiful architecture and beautiful beaches and we also heard about the food of that place is very delicious and also we have gotten some free time to explore and enjoy, so i want to know which kind of different activities and sightseeing we can do there?, is there any particular place that we should visit or any amazing food that we should try? and it would be very nice if you could join us as its been long time since we have met each other. And yes, there are some of our school friends as well who will join us on this trip.
So we plan forward, i will let you know👍🏼
Thank you!
AI examiner evaluation
| Criterion | Band |
|---|---|
| Task Achievement / Task Response | 5.5 |
| Coherence and Cohesion | 5.5 |
| Lexical Resource | 5.5 |
| Grammatical Range and Accuracy | 5.5 |
| Overall | 5.5 |
Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5
The letter covers all three bullet points: the purpose of the trip is explained, you ask for recommendations, and you invite your friend to join. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. The tone is informal and appropriate for a letter to a friend, but the structure is quite rushed. The inclusion of 'cousins' and 'school friends' is relevant, but the overall flow feels like a single block of text rather than a well-structured letter. To improve, ensure each bullet point is developed with more detail and organized into distinct paragraphs to better reflect the conventions of a formal or informal letter.
Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5
The letter lacks clear paragraphing, which is essential for organizing ideas in a letter format. The text is presented as one long paragraph, making it difficult to follow the transition between the purpose of the trip, the request for information, and the invitation. While there is a logical progression of ideas, the lack of paragraph breaks and the limited use of cohesive devices (such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in addition') make the writing feel mechanical. Using clear paragraph breaks for each main point would significantly improve the readability and coherence of your response.
Lexical Resource — Band 5.5
The vocabulary is adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You rely on repetitive phrasing, such as using 'beautiful' twice in the same sentence and 'visit' multiple times. There is an attempt to use descriptive language, but it lacks variety. For example, instead of 'beautiful architecture', you could use 'stunning architecture' or 'impressive landmarks'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise adjectives and avoid repeating the same words in close proximity. The use of 'Hii' and the emoji is acceptable for an informal letter, but ensure your vocabulary remains varied throughout.
Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5
There are several grammatical issues that affect the flow of the letter. You have some run-on sentences, such as 'We want to visit your town because of its beautiful architecture and beautiful beaches and we also heard about the food of that place is very delicious and also we have gotten some free time...'. This sentence is overly long and lacks proper punctuation. Additionally, there are minor errors in subject-verb agreement and article usage (e.g., 'the food of that place is very delicious'). While the meaning is clear, the lack of complex sentence structures and the presence of frequent punctuation errors limit the score.
See this exact question answered at other band scores — the same prompt compared across bands.
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