Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-11-04

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 Raj,

Hope you are doing splendidly! It's been absolute ages since we last caught up.''How have things been going with you and your family?''

I will come to Toronto next week for my US visa interview. On top of that, I will visit my cousins at my aunt's place. I am planning to stay there for three days.

Listen, I have never visited Toronto before, so I am bit confused about the tourist attractions of the city. I want to see center island, CN tower, harbour front etc. I am wondering if we can go to escape room, if there is the better option available. I want to reserve a dinning table at CN tower restaurant. I am not sure about tickets and reservation process, will you check it for me?

I would like you to invite for a house party at my aunt's place on the 7th November. We will have dinner at home and we will go out for club party. We will have total fun for sure.

We will catch up soon! Take good care of yourself and give my best wishes to your family.

Best regards,

Maitri

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

The letter addresses all three requirements clearly: you explain that you are travelling to Toronto for a visa interview and to visit relatives, ask about attractions and practical arrangements, and invite Raj to join you. The questions about Centre Island, the CN Tower and booking a restaurant make the request specific, while the proposed dinner and night out give the invitation a clear purpose. The main ideas are relevant and generally extended, supporting a strong response to the task. Some details could be made clearer or more fully developed: for example, specify whether you want Raj to accompany you to the attractions or simply advise you, and clarify the date and plan for the proposed outing so the invitation is easy to accept.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter follows a sensible progression from greeting and personal news to the trip, sightseeing questions, invitation and closing. Paragraph breaks help distinguish these functions, and phrases such as “On top of that” and “Listen” create a friendly, informal tone. This gives the message a coherent overall arrangement. Some connections and references are less smooth, however: the shift from asking about sightseeing to asking Raj to check tickets and reservations could be linked more explicitly, and “I would like you to invite for a house party” makes the intended action unclear. The quotation marks around the question in the opening also interrupt the flow. More precise linking and clearer reference to who is doing what would strengthen cohesion.

Lexical Resource: Band 6.0

You use an adequate range of vocabulary for a friendly letter, including travel and leisure terms such as “visa interview,” “tourist attractions,” “reservation process” and “house party.” The enthusiastic expressions “splendidly” and “We will have total fun” help establish a personal tone, although some choices are inaccurate or unnatural. Examples include “dinning table” for a restaurant booking, “center island” where the attraction is usually called Centre Island, and “club party,” which is not a natural collocation here. “I am bit confused” also needs a more natural expression. These slips do not prevent the reader from understanding your plans, but more accurate collocations and spelling would make the letter sound more fluent and precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

The letter includes a mix of simple sentences and more developed forms, such as “I am wondering if we can go to escape room” and “I am not sure about tickets and reservation process, will you check it for me?” Most of the message remains understandable, and the reader can follow the trip plans despite some grammatical errors. These include missing articles in “I am bit confused” and “go to escape room,” and the construction “I would like you to invite for a house party,” which needs a clear object and a different verb pattern. The question joined to the preceding clause with a comma also needs separation or restructuring. Review articles, verb patterns and sentence boundaries to improve accuracy while retaining varied sentence forms.

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

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