Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-07

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 Baljot

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter regarding my upcoming business trip to your city Edmonton which is next month from 3 December to 8 December. This business trip is basically for training. I will arrive on 3 December and my training will start on December to 6 December for 5 hour every at 8'o in morning. I have free time after my training and full day on 7th and my returning flight is on 8th. I heard there is very big mall in your city which i want to see. Apart from this there are many famous clubs and sport activities places. I would like to invite you to explore these places with me and so i can spent some quality of time with you. Its been long time we wend for dinner and enjoyed wine and dinner. If you have time these days please let me know so i can plan my days accordingly.

Regards,

Raman

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.0

You address all three points: you explain that the trip is for training, give the dates and your free time, ask about attractions, and invite Baljot to explore and have dinner with you. The invitation is friendly and relevant, and the reader can understand your plans. However, the sightseeing question is not fully clear: “I heard there is very big mall” and the mention of clubs and sports venues do not directly ask your friend what they recommend. The training schedule is also difficult to follow because the start date is missing. To strengthen the letter, ask explicitly which places Baljot suggests and develop the invitation with a specific day or activity.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter follows a generally sensible order: you introduce the trip, describe your schedule, mention possible attractions, and finish with an invitation and request for a reply. This makes the overall purpose easy to identify. However, most information is placed in one long paragraph, so the schedule and sightseeing request run together. Some links are also awkward or unclear, particularly “Apart from this” and “and so i can spent some quality of time with you.” Use separate paragraphs for the trip details and plans, and connect ideas more directly. A clearer sequence—purpose and dates, free time and questions, then invitation—would make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You use enough vocabulary to communicate the main details, including “business trip,” “training,” “sightseeing,” “explore,” and “returning flight.” The friendly tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, several phrases are imprecise or unnatural, such as “very big mall,” “sport activities places,” and “quality of time.” There are also spelling and word-form slips, including “wend” and “spent” where the intended meaning is present time. These choices do not prevent understanding, but they limit precision and naturalness. Practise common collocations for travel and leisure, and choose specific terms such as shopping centre, sports facilities, or spend time together.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more extended sentences, for example, “I have free time after my training and full day on 7th” and the sentence explaining your schedule. The main message remains understandable, but some grammatical errors make details less clear. In “my training will start on December to 6 December,” the date structure is incomplete, while “for 5 hour every at 8'o in morning” has problems with number, time expression, and articles. Other examples include “there is very big mall” and “Its been long time.” Use complete date and time phrases, check articles and plurals, and review apostrophes and sentence punctuation. More accurate control of these patterns would make your plans easier to follow.

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

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