Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-04

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You live in a small apartment building with a parking lot in back, and you often cannot find an empty parking space when you get home from work.

Write a letter to your landlord. In your letter
• describe the situation.
• explain why it bothers you.
• suggest something the landlord could do to solve the problem.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ____

Student answer (Band 5.0)

Dear Anu,

I hope you and your family are doing great. I wanted to talk to you regarding the unfortunate incident that happened in my apartment while I was away.

Yesterday, after my return, I noticed that my MacBook was broken and was kept on the night table in my bedroom. Its display screen is not working properly. As it is the latest version which is quite expensive, the repair cost will also break the bank.

Regardless of price, it's very essential for me because I have all my work related and personal documents saved in it. Since yesterday, my employer has been requesting for a specific file which is also saved in it. Consequently, it is mandatory for me to have that repaired as soon as possible.

It would be very helpful for me if you could provide me with the details of what exactly happened to it. Moreover, some suggestions regarding the best mechanic in the town to repair my laptop would also be appreciated.

I hope to see you soon and have a great weekend.

Warm regards,

Gurkirat Kaur

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 2.0

The response is completely off-topic. The task instructions explicitly asked you to write a letter to your landlord regarding a parking problem in your apartment building. Instead, you wrote a letter about a damaged MacBook. Because you failed to address any of the bullet points (describing the parking situation, explaining why it bothers you, or suggesting a solution), the response fails to meet the requirements of the task. In an actual IELTS examination, this would be treated as a memorized or irrelevant response, resulting in a very low score for Task Achievement.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is logically organized in terms of structure, with a clear opening, body paragraphs, and a closing. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Regardless of price,' 'Since yesterday,' and 'Consequently' to link ideas. However, because the content is entirely unrelated to the prompt, the coherence is undermined by the lack of relevance to the task. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate the introduction, the problem description, and the request for assistance.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a reasonable range of vocabulary, such as 'unfortunate incident,' 'mandatory,' and 'appreciated.' There are some minor issues with collocation, such as 'kept on the night table' (usually 'left on') and 'mechanic in the town' (usually 'technician' for electronics). Despite the content being off-topic, the language used is generally natural and sufficient to communicate the (incorrect) message clearly. You show an ability to use topic-specific vocabulary related to technology and repair.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as 'As it is the latest version which is quite expensive, the repair cost will also break the bank.' There are occasional grammatical errors, such as 'requesting for a specific file' (requesting a file) and 'have that repaired' (have it repaired). However, these errors do not impede communication. The punctuation is generally accurate, and the tone is appropriate for a formal letter.

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

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