Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-22

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)

23-05-2026

Dear Riya ,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to inform you upcoming month September 14 2026 till October 26 , 2026 I’ll be on vacation and I have booked the house near lake.

The house is a studio apartment with 3 bedrooms with attached washrooms and kitchen with a beautiful balcony with the river view. I wanted to check if you Would be able to join me during these dates.If you planning to join me please do apply leave in advance the dates I have already mentioned so you can plan accordingly and join me if you wish to come with me.

I also forgot to tell you that the kitchen equipments will be provided by the hospitality team they also have a garden beside the river where we can have fun do barbecue and also play football and badminton.

Kindly do let me know if you would like to join me.

Thanks.

Yours lovingly ,

Ren

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

You have addressed all three bullet points: describing the house, explaining how you are spending your time, and inviting your friend. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. For instance, the description of the house is a bit contradictory (a studio apartment with three bedrooms), and the explanation of your time spent is brief. To reach a higher band, you should provide more descriptive detail and ensure the information is consistent. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the letter is clear throughout.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your message. You use basic cohesive devices such as 'I also' and 'If you', but the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical. The transition between the description of the house and the invitation could be smoother. While the overall arrangement is coherent, the use of referencing is occasionally unclear, such as in the sentence 'the dates I have already mentioned', which feels slightly repetitive. Improving the variety of linking words would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have an adequate range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'hospitality team', 'vacation', and 'studio apartment'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'apply leave' (should be 'apply for leave') and 'kitchen equipments' (equipment is an uncountable noun). You rely on fairly simple vocabulary throughout the letter. To improve, try to incorporate more descriptive adjectives and precise collocations to make your writing more engaging and natural for a personal letter.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally distract the reader. For example, there are issues with articles ('the house near lake' should be 'a house near the lake'), missing prepositions, and tense consistency. Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with spacing around commas and periods. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to lower the score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and correct article usage will help improve your accuracy.

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

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