Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-10

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have rented a house by a lake for the summer.

Write a letter to a friend. In your letter
• describe the house.
• describe how you are spending your time there.
• invite your friend to come and visit.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear ____

Student answer (Band 5.5)

Dear Ali,

I hope you are keeping well , I am really happy now, to tell you about the new house which I have rented for spending my summer vacations . This house is really massive as compared to last one which we ranted last year and one more advantage is that the house is near to our popular kenchar lake however, it is bit high form my budget but value for the money.

This house impress me for it's location it's has 2 huge rooms with attach bath and kitchen is also included where I can prepare the delicious meals Moreover, one interesting thing is that on the roof top there is a private swimming pool.

As you know me very well since our childhood that I am keen on swimming. I spend half of the day in swimming pool where I improve my stamina and add some skills in the swimming and after that I prepare food for myself because of my cooking habit I cook here on my own pase not any rules are here to follow .

I want to invite you because I really miss you and I hope you will come here and than we must enjoy our warm vacations together. I might positive response from y

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: describing the house, explaining your daily activities, and inviting your friend. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the communication is clear throughout. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited; for instance, while you mention the swimming pool, you could have provided more descriptive detail about the atmosphere or the view to make the letter more engaging. The conclusion is incomplete, which slightly affects the overall sense of task completion. To reach a higher band, ensure that all sections are fully developed and that the letter has a clear, finished ending.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your ideas. You use some cohesive devices such as 'Moreover' and 'As you know', which assist in connecting your thoughts. However, the flow is occasionally interrupted by mechanical errors and awkward phrasing, such as the transition between the house description and your daily routine. Some sentences are run-on, and the use of punctuation is inconsistent, which makes the progression of ideas feel slightly disjointed at times. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring consistent paragraph structure would enhance the overall coherence of your writing.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, using words like 'massive', 'advantage', and 'stamina'. However, there are several instances of incorrect word choice and collocation, such as 'high form my budget' (should be 'high for my budget') and 'on my own pase' (should be 'at my own pace'). Additionally, there are some spelling errors like 'ranted' instead of 'rented' and 'than' instead of 'then'. While these errors do not prevent the reader from understanding your message, they limit the precision of your expression. Expanding your vocabulary to include more natural collocations would improve your score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, which is a positive step. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the house is near to our popular kenchar lake'), verb forms ('this house impress me'), and prepositions. Punctuation is also a significant issue, with several comma splices and missing full stops, which makes some sentences difficult to parse. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of errors in basic grammar and sentence construction prevents the writing from reaching a higher band. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and sentence boundaries will be very beneficial.

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

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