Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-21

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 Kamal,

I hope you are doing well!. It’s been a long time since we talked to each other. I am writing this to inform you that I am visiting your city, Burlington, next month regarding my business trip.

The main purpose of my travel is to attend a meeting as you are already staying there I decided to explore famous places in your city.

I am planning to stay in the Comfort Inn. Hotel near the transit station for three days. If you have any suggestions for places to visit during my stay. I know we have some common interest, so you can give me suggestions for the places to go for tracking, music concert, and a restaurant.

I was wondering, If you have time, we could go together to a restaurant you suggest to eat vegetarian food. I been a long time since I had been to any vegetarian restaurants and I miss the veg. Biriyani.

I would appreciate it if you could suggest me with places and you time schedule for initial week of next month, so I can plan my trip accordingly.

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,

Margee

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You address all three points clearly: you explain that you are visiting Burlington for a business meeting, ask for suggestions on sightseeing and activities, and invite Kamal to share a vegetarian meal. The invitation and reference to missing veg biriyani make the letter personal and relevant. The request for recommendations is also supported with examples such as hiking, a concert, and restaurants. To make the ideas more fully developed, clarify what kind of sightseeing you are most interested in and make the proposed outing more specific, for example by suggesting a day or time. Overall, the purpose and requests are clear, though some details remain general.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter has a clear overall progression: greeting and trip announcement, requests for recommendations, an invitation, and a polite closing. Paragraphs generally group related information, and phrases such as “I am writing this to inform you” and “I was wondering” help signal the purpose of each section. This meets the lower-band expectation of coherent arrangement and shows some movement toward more flexible organisation. However, several sentence boundaries interrupt the flow, particularly “If you have any suggestions for places to visit during my stay.” followed by “I know we have some common interest”. The final request also combines recommendations and availability in one sentence. Use complete, connected sentences and clearer transitions to make the progression smoother.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range for a friendly letter, including relevant expressions such as “business trip,” “explore famous places,” “common interest,” and “vegetarian food.” These choices make your meaning understandable, and the personal reference to “veg. Biriyani” adds a natural detail. There are also some inaccurate or awkward choices that limit precision: “regarding my business trip” is less natural than “for a business trip,” while “places to go for tracking” appears to mean “places to go trekking” or “hiking.” “Suggest me with places” is also an awkward collocation. Aim for more precise activity and travel vocabulary, and check spelling and collocations so your ideas sound more natural.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You attempt both simple and more complex forms, including “I am writing this to inform you that…” and the conditional invitation, “If you have time, we could go together…”. The main message remains understandable, but some errors in sentence structure, verb forms, and punctuation reduce accuracy. For example, “I been a long time since I had been” needs a complete and consistent verb construction, such as “It has been a long time since I went.” The sentence beginning “If you have any suggestions…” is a fragment, and “I would appreciate it if you could suggest me…” has an incomplete grammatical pattern. Review sentence boundaries, auxiliary verbs, and conditional structures to improve control.

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

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