Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-12

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 Balraj,

I am coming to Montreal for a business trip in the next week. I am meeting some potenial investors, who would be interested to be a part of my company's new startup. The trip is for entire weekend,however the meeting itself will only take a day.

So, i was thinking to do some sightseeing while i am there to make most out of my time. I would appreciate if you could tell me about some fun activities to do and visit some places that are worthwhile.

Moreover, i would also like to invite you as well during my visit. As you have been living in the city for quite a while now, maybe you can plan a little 2 day trip for us. I would like to explore the city as much as i can but i also want it to be budget friendly. I trust your ability to come up with a soild plan. I will be looking forward to the trip.

Yours,

Akashdeep Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. First, the purpose of the trip is clearly explained as a business meeting with potential investors for a new startup, spanning an entire weekend. Second, the writer asks about things to do and see in Montreal, mentioning fun and worthwhile activities. Finally, the friend is explicitly invited to join the visit, suggesting a two-day trip together. The tone is appropriately semi-formal and friendly, suitable for a letter to an acquaintance. All parts of the prompt are addressed fully and relevant ideas are clearly developed, aligning well with the descriptors for Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.0

The letter exhibits a clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Ideas are grouped reasonably into paragraphs, transitioning naturally from the purpose of the trip to sightseeing plans, and finally to the invitation. Cohesive devices such as 'So', 'Moreover', and referencing pronouns like 'who' and 'that' are used, though there are minor mechanical instances, such as the lowercase 'i' in 'i was thinking' and spacing issues around commas ('weekend,however' and 'while i am there'). Despite these minor surface cohesion errors, the overall progression is easy to follow and paragraphing is appropriate, fully supporting a Band 6.5 or 7.0 score. Given the clear logical flow, a solid Band 7.0 is awarded.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a sufficient lexical range to convey meaning with reasonable flexibility and precision. Phrases such as 'potential investors', 'startup', 'budget friendly', and 'worthwhile' show an attempt to use appropriate vocabulary for the context. However, there are some noticeable vocabulary and spelling errors, such as 'potenial' instead of 'potential', 'soild' instead of 'solid', and the awkward collocation 'interested to be a part of'. While these errors do not impede communication, they prevent the lexical score from reaching higher tiers. The vocabulary is adequate and fits the semi-formal register well, earning a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The writer uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses ('who would be interested...') and conditional or temporal clauses. There are several grammatical and punctuation errors throughout the text, including capitalization slips ('i was thinking'), missing articles ('for entire weekend'), and a comma splice ('The trip is for entire weekend,however the meeting itself...'). Despite these recurring slips, the meaning remains entirely clear and communication is not impeded. The control of grammar represents a typical Band 6.0 performance, where complex forms are attempted with some resulting inaccuracy.

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

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