Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-27

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)

Hello Rahul

How are you? i am coming to your city for a business meeting and excited to see you as well.

we will meet after a long time and i cannot wait to see you . My meeting is on the i am arriving which is Thursday this week and after meeting i am fully free and let me know what are exciting places are there to visit and places for fun activity.

i have a hotel room booked by my company and i will send you a address and we will meet there and will enjoy couple of days and please take holidays from your work for next week , You know we are meeting after many years so i do not want to listen any excuses . We will do alots of fun together and not forget to take me to your home i also want to meet your family as well. see you soon.

Your freind,

Raman.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The letter covers all three bullet points required by the task: the purpose of the trip is mentioned, you ask for recommendations, and you extend an invitation to your friend. However, the tone is somewhat demanding rather than friendly, particularly in the phrase 'I do not want to listen any excuses,' which is inappropriate for a letter to a friend. While the task is addressed, the development of ideas is quite basic. To improve, ensure the tone is consistently warm and polite, and provide a bit more detail regarding your specific interests or the duration of your stay to better flesh out the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is generally easy to follow, but it lacks clear paragraphing. The entire body of the letter is presented as one block of text, which makes it difficult for the reader to distinguish between the different points requested in the prompt. Using clear paragraph breaks for each bullet point would significantly improve the structure. Additionally, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited; the text relies heavily on simple conjunctions like 'and'. Incorporating a wider range of linking words (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'as for') would help the ideas flow more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is functional but limited. You use basic phrases such as 'exciting places' and 'fun activity' repeatedly. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'take holidays' (should be 'take time off') and 'do alots of fun' (should be 'have a lot of fun'). To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise and natural-sounding expressions. For example, instead of 'exciting places', you could use 'must-see attractions' or 'local landmarks'. The spelling of 'freind' at the end is also a minor error that should be corrected.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter. Common issues include missing articles (e.g., 'send you a address' should be 'send you the address'), incorrect verb tenses, and punctuation errors, such as the inconsistent use of capital letters (e.g., 'i' instead of 'I'). The sentence structures are mostly simple, and there is a lack of complex sentence forms. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles. Additionally, proofreading for basic punctuation and capitalization will help ensure your writing appears more professional and polished.

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

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