Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-01

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 Sid

Hope you are in high spirits and best of your health. I am writing this letter to inform you that I am visiting your city next week.

As you know , I am working as a software engineer in a multinational company. In Toronto, there is a conference on cyber safety So, i am coming there to get some ideas to resolve these problems in my firm.

I have some free time after my meeting so i love to hear from you about worth seeing places of your city and a few restaurants where i can enjoy delicious food. Also, suggest any hotel which is budget friendly and comforting.

I am spending three days there so if you are free on weekend, we will enjoy quality time together. Its been very long that we met each other. we will go for hiking and have lot of fun.

Hope to hear from you soon.

With love

Gurpreet

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The letter successfully addresses all three bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explain the purpose of your trip (a cyber safety conference), ask for recommendations regarding sightseeing and dining, and extend a warm 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 the context and your specific needs for the visit. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more detail about your specific interests in sightseeing to make the request more personal and engaging.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized, with each paragraph focusing on a distinct aspect of the prompt. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the purpose of the trip to specific requests and finally the invitation. You use some cohesive devices such as 'As you know' and 'Also', which help the flow. However, the transition between sentences could be smoother in some places. For instance, the jump between discussing the conference and asking for restaurant recommendations is a bit abrupt. Using a wider variety of linking words or phrases would improve the overall flow and make the connections between your ideas more explicit.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'high spirits', 'multinational company', and 'budget friendly' are used appropriately. There are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'worth seeing places' (better: 'must-see attractions') and 'its been very long that we met' (better: 'it has been a long time since we last met'). While the vocabulary is adequate for the task, incorporating more precise or idiomatic expressions would elevate the quality of your writing and demonstrate a more sophisticated command of the language.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is appropriate for this task. However, there are several grammatical errors, particularly with punctuation and capitalization (e.g., 'So, i am coming', 'As you know ,', 'i love to hear'). Additionally, there are minor errors in tense and article usage, such as 'best of your health' (should be 'the best of your health') and 'have lot of fun' (should be 'have a lot of fun'). While these errors do not impede communication, they occur frequently enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on proofreading for basic punctuation and capitalization will significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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