Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-27

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 Great,

I am writing this letter to inform you about my business trip to Beijing, China where you live. I want to source out some industrial equipments for my company, Cosgrove Investment Limited, a construction company. Also, I would have extra hours for adventures and sightseeing, which I hope you would be available to tour with me.

Remember our last conversation on how Beijing has one of the seven wonders of the world! and that would be the 'great wall of china'I believe you have several lists of places in mind that would be of great interest to me. If you can also take me to a Chinese restaurant.

Furthermore, I want you to assist me in checking out the office I want to get the Industrial machines, such as the Bulldozer, Payloader, Excavator and the truck. There is also a seminar I want to attend themed 'Nigerians and the Chinese market' and I would like you to tag along.

See you soon.

Warm regards,

Roland

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The candidate successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task prompt. The purpose of the business trip is clearly explained (sourcing industrial equipment for Cosgrove Investment Limited), inquiries about sightseeing are included, and an invitation to tour together and attend a seminar is extended. The tone is semi-formal, which is generally appropriate for a letter to a friend, though the salutation 'Dear Great,' appears slightly unnatural (likely a misunderstanding of a name or a typographical error). Ideas are relevant and developed well enough to satisfy the requirements of the task. However, some aspects, such as the specific details regarding the office visit and the seminar, are slightly interwoven, yet the overall communicative purpose is fully achieved, aligning well with the Band 7 descriptors.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a clear overall progression and logical organisation throughout. The opening paragraph establishes the context, the middle paragraphs detail the itinerary and requests, and the final section concludes the message. Cohesive devices such as 'Also', 'Furthermore', and referencing pronouns ('which I hope', 'that would be') are utilised reasonably well, though paragraphing is somewhat fragmented, with several very short paragraphs that could be better grouped. While the logical flow is generally clear, the mechanical transitions and occasional abrupt shifts between ideas prevent it from reaching a higher band. Overall, the structural arrangement meets the criteria for Band 6.5, rounded to 6.0 based on paragraphing limitations.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

The student demonstrates an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, attempting some less common business and tourism-related items such as 'source out', 'industrial equipments', 'adventures and sightseeing', and specific machinery like 'Bulldozer', 'Payloader', and 'Excavator'. However, there are noticeable lexical and collocational inaccuracies. For instance, 'equipments' is an uncountable noun and used incorrectly with a plural 's', and 'source out' is less precise than simply 'source'. Furthermore, 'Dear Great' indicates a slight awkwardness in word choice. These errors do not impede communication, but they reflect the limitations characteristic of Band 6.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including relative clauses ('where you live', 'which I hope you would be available') and conditional constructions ('If you can also take me'). There are several grammatical errors and punctuation issues present, such as the missing question mark and fused punctuation in '...great wall of china'I believe...' and capitalization anomalies. Subject-verb agreement and tense consistency also show minor slips, such as 'I would have extra hours' instead of 'I will have'. Despite these errors, the structures are generally understandable and communication is not impeded, fitting comfortably into the Band 6 category.

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

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