Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-02

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 Sam,

I hope everything is going well for you and your family. I am incredibly excited to tell you that I am coming to your town next month. I have a couple of business meetings to attend in your city so I am staying there for a week.

Unfortunately, I am having a very strict work schedule nowadays so I don't have time to take a look and check intresting places to visit in your city so I would requesting you to help me with it and suggest me some tourist attraction to visit. And as you know I am food enthusiast so help me to find good italian cuisine to try.

Let's meet somewhere for dinner and bring back our old memories that we used or spend together. I will be available on Friday night for dinner, let me know if that's works for you or sugget me something better if you have in your mind.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation. See you soon!

Best Regards,

Varshil

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required in the prompt. You clearly explain the purpose of your trip by mentioning your upcoming business meetings and the week-long stay. You also ask about things to do and see by requesting tourist attractions and good Italian cuisine recommendations, and you invite your friend to a dinner meeting on Friday night. All requirements are addressed appropriately, and the semi-formal tone is well-maintained throughout the letter. The ideas are extended and supported clearly, such as providing specific details about your schedule and your availability for dinner, giving the response a natural flow. To move even further, you could expand slightly more on your specific interests for sightseeing to make the suggestions more tailored.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 7.0

The letter demonstrates clear logical organisation and progression throughout. Each paragraph serves a distinct purpose, moving smoothly from the opening greetings and trip purpose to your request for recommendations, the dinner invitation, and finally the polite closing remarks. Cohesive devices such as 'Unfortunately', 'And as you know', and 'Let's meet' are used effectively to connect your ideas and guide the reader. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate each main topic. Referencing throughout the text is generally clear, though occasional transitional links could be made slightly more sophisticated to enhance the overall flow even further.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a personal letter. You attempt some less common phrases such as 'food enthusiast' and 'business meetings'. However, there are noticeable lexical errors and awkward word choices that restrict the score, such as spelling 'intresting' instead of 'interesting', using 'taking a look and check' rather than a smoother collocation, and writing 'so I would requesting you' instead of 'so I am writing to request you'. Additionally, phrases like 'bring back our old memories' are slightly unnatural compared to standard collocations like 'relive old memories'. Improving precision in word choice and checking your spelling will help you achieve a higher band.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The response features a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating decent control over your sentence structures. You successfully use subordinate clauses, such as 'I hope everything is going well for you and your family' and 'as you know I am food enthusiast'. However, there are some grammar errors present, such as the incorrect verb form 'I would requesting you', the omission of an article in 'as you know I am a food enthusiast', and punctuation or phrasing slips like 'let me know if that's works for you' or 'sugget me something'. These errors rarely impede communication, but eliminating them and increasing the proportion of error-free complex sentences will elevate your grammatical score.

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

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