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 Harman

I hope this letter finds you well. It feels like we caught up since ages. How things going with you and family? I am delighted to tell you that I am coming to Vancouver for my business meeting with a client. Therefore I will have some time to see around the city. Just wondering about if we can meet and explore the beauty of scenic mountains and trails in your city.

Moreover, you can suggest some good ideas for planning the trip, which can help us to enjoy more in short span of time. Although, my meeting is in surrey for just two to three hours, I have booked the stay in hotel in Vancouver for two days. I had heard about some places like Canada place, Stanley park in Vancouver. I think this will be the good choice because we will have less travelling time to reach these destinations.

I would love to spend my memorable trip with you, please design your schedule to fit me in. Just a question, I was planning for hike with you like we use to do in our back home country. if you are agree to this please join me.

Thank you

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining the purpose of your trip, asking for recommendations, and inviting your friend to join you. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the visit is clearly stated. To improve, you could provide more specific details about the 'business meeting' to make the scenario feel more authentic, and ensure the invitation is slightly more formal or structured to match the flow of the letter. Overall, the response is well-developed and covers all requirements effectively.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each serving a distinct purpose. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'Although' to link ideas. However, some transitions feel a bit mechanical or slightly abrupt, such as the jump between the meeting details and the sightseeing plans. The use of referencing is generally clear, though the flow between sentences could be improved by using a wider variety of linking words to create a more natural, conversational tone. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the different topics.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, using phrases like 'scenic mountains' and 'memorable trip'. However, there are some minor inaccuracies in collocation and word choice, such as 'caught up since ages' (should be 'haven't caught up in ages') and 'design your schedule to fit me in' (which sounds slightly unnatural). While the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly, it lacks the flexibility and precision required for higher band scores. Expanding your repertoire of idiomatic expressions and natural collocations would enhance your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors that persist, such as 'How things going' (missing auxiliary verb 'are'), 'I had heard' (tense inconsistency), and 'if you are agree' (should be 'if you agree'). Punctuation is generally functional, but there are some minor errors in sentence construction. To reach a higher band, you should focus on ensuring subject-verb agreement and using more varied complex structures with greater accuracy, as these errors occur frequently throughout the text.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.