Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-03

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 Aravinth,

I hope you are doing well, I am coming for a business trip to your city. I hope we can spend time together during my free time.

I am coming for business trip to gain more ideas and spend value time with conference people to get ideas and more interaction. I will get more time with businessmen regarding how to start and how much money is needed to start a business.

what are things i want do and don't do in this city. In your area what are the places are able to visit during our free times.

In you city any famous or art gallery ,stadiums or any thing there. In night any musical concerts to relax our mind and a have good dinner . I have talk to your mother regarding coming to city for a business trip and do sightseeing when we are free. In night we can go to beach to get relax and get good quality time with you.

I hope this letter will receive you soon and i will get a reply from within a week.

warm regards,

john,

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points: explaining the purpose of the trip, asking for recommendations, and inviting your friend to meet. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. The explanation of the business trip is repetitive, and the request for sightseeing suggestions lacks specific detail. To improve, ensure your ideas are more fully extended; for example, instead of just asking what to do, you could mention specific interests like historical sites or local cuisine. The tone is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend, though it could be more natural.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. However, the use of cohesive devices is quite limited and sometimes mechanical. There is a lack of linking words to connect your ideas smoothly within sentences. For instance, the transition between your business purpose and your request for sightseeing advice is abrupt. Improving the flow by using a wider variety of transition signals (e.g., 'furthermore', 'consequently', 'in addition') would help create a more logical progression of ideas throughout the letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is adequate for the task, but it is somewhat repetitive and basic. You frequently use simple words like 'get' and 'ideas'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'spend value time' instead of 'spend quality time' and 'talk to your mother' instead of 'spoken to your mother'. To reach a higher band, try to incorporate more precise vocabulary related to travel and social plans. While your meaning is generally clear, the lack of variety in word choice prevents the response from reaching a higher level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and some attempted complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with verb tenses, articles, and sentence construction. For example, 'I have talk to your mother' should be 'I have spoken to your mother', and 'In you city any famous or art gallery' is grammatically incorrect. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with some missing spaces after commas and incorrect capitalization. These errors occasionally cause the reader to pause, though they do not completely impede communication.

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

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