Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-01

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 5.5)

Dear Sarah,

Hope you are doing well. Iam writing to inform you a exciting news. As you know that I got a job recently and it is going very well. My company is planning to a business trip to your city and most probabily I will get a chance to participate.

Although it is a three days trip with two days meeting, I hope we will get some free time to do some sightseeing.Since, you are living there for a long time, I am sure that you would know the best places to have fun. If you are free please let me know what we will do there. I am curious about the beaches and food.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 4.5

The response addresses the main purpose of the task by explaining the business trip, asking about sights, and inviting the friend, but the development of these ideas remains limited and under-developed. For example, the mention of visiting beaches and food is very brief and lacks elaboration. Furthermore, the length requirement is not met, as the response contains only 116 words, which falls significantly short of the 150-word minimum. To reach a higher level, the writer would need to fully extend all parts of the prompt with expanded details and meet the required word count.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.0

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear personal greeting and a logical sequence moving from the news of the trip to asking for advice and making an invitation. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Although' and 'Since', though referencing is occasionally basic. Paragraphing is mostly appropriate, though the text is concise. To move to a higher band, the writer could ensure smoother transitions between ideas and manage paragraphing with greater flexibility.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

The vocabulary is minimally adequate for the task, providing an understandable message with everyday phrases like 'doing well' and 'free time'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors, such as 'a exciting news' (an exciting piece of news), 'planning to a business trip' (planning a business trip), and 'probabily' (probably). The range of vocabulary is somewhat limited and relies on basic terms. To achieve a higher score, the writer needs to incorporate a wider range of less common lexical items with accurate word formation and spelling.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writing displays a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, such as the concessive clause 'Although it is a three days trip...'. However, there are frequent errors in grammar and punctuation, including tense and preposition usage like 'planning to a business trip' and 'living there for a long time' (having lived there). While these errors rarely impede overall communication, they persist throughout the text. To attain a higher band, the writer must produce a greater proportion of error-free sentences using a wider variety of complex structures.

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

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