Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-06

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 Shiv,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing to inform you that I will be visiting your city next month.

I was planning since so long but due to my hectic study plan I was unable to visit. I will be coming with my 4 group members as this trip is regarding a project. In this project we need to collect history of your city and I think that I will definitely need your help. I would like to know that which places I should include in my project as we will need few famous tourist places from your city. Our professor also said that in the project he wants some pictures of various cuisines as well and I know as a foodie you will absolutely have a big list to try various food item. I would like to take your help regarding this and I want to meet you as well. I would suggest that during weekend you can join us if you are free as my plan is to stay for a week at least.

I am hoping to see you soon.

Regards,

Pan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained the purpose of the trip (a project involving historical research), asked for recommendations regarding tourist sites and local cuisine, and extended a clear invitation to your friend to meet during the weekend. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the communication is clear throughout. To reach a higher band, you could provide slightly more specific details about the project or the types of historical sites you are interested in, which would further develop your ideas.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'as', 'and', and 'because' to link ideas. However, the paragraphing is currently non-existent; the entire body of the letter is one block of text. To improve, you should separate the different points into distinct paragraphs—for example, one for the purpose of the trip, one for the requests, and one for the invitation. This would make the letter much easier to follow and demonstrate better control over text structure.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. Phrases like 'hectic study plan' and 'foodie' are natural and appropriate for an informal letter. However, there are some minor issues with word choice and collocation, such as 'collect history of your city' (better: 'research the history') and 'take your help' (better: 'ask for your help'). Expanding your vocabulary to include more precise collocations would help you achieve a higher score. Your spelling is generally accurate throughout the response.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While the meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical errors. For example, 'I was planning since so long' is incorrect (should be 'I have been planning for a long time'), and 'I would like to know that which places' contains an unnecessary 'that'. Additionally, 'I think that I will definitely need your help' is a bit repetitive. Focusing on verb tenses and eliminating redundant words will help improve your accuracy and the overall flow of your writing.

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

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