Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-25

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 Karan,

Its been a long time since we met last time i just wanted to let you know about that this summer i planned to book a house by the lake for spending quality time there with friends in this house there will be a good source for entertainment like open backyard 4 bedroom house

I planned that we spend 4 days there in this 4 days we do lots of fun like playing volleyball in backyard also there is a lake in which we do boating, swimming as well as fishing our school friends will also coming there which makes it more enjoyable

I know you are busy in your work but i wanted to invite you there to join us and being a part of fun if you will be there it is immensely beneficial for us to spend good time together.

I look forward to hearing from you

Best wishes,

Gurkaran singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points: describing the house, explaining how you spend your time, and inviting your friend. However, the development of these ideas is quite limited. For instance, the description of the house is brief, and the invitation lacks a sense of personal warmth or specific details about the visit. To improve, you should expand on your descriptions by adding more descriptive adjectives and specific details about the atmosphere or the activities. While the task requirements are met, the response feels somewhat rushed and lacks the depth expected for a higher band score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into three paragraphs, which is appropriate for this task. However, the flow between ideas is often disjointed due to a lack of cohesive devices. Many sentences are run-on or lack necessary punctuation, which makes the progression of ideas feel mechanical. For example, the transition between describing the house and the activities is abrupt. Using linking words such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in addition' would help connect your thoughts more naturally. Additionally, the lack of full stops makes it difficult for the reader to follow the logical structure of your letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task but remains quite basic. You rely on simple, repetitive phrasing such as 'do lots of fun' and 'good source for entertainment'. To achieve a higher score, you should aim for more precise and varied vocabulary. For example, instead of 'do lots of fun', you could use 'engage in various recreational activities'. There are also some minor errors in word choice, such as 'being a part of fun', which sounds unnatural. Expanding your range of collocations and using more descriptive adjectives would significantly enhance your writing.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

Your grammar is the most significant area for improvement. The letter contains numerous run-on sentences and a complete lack of punctuation, which makes reading difficult. There are frequent errors in verb tense and sentence structure, such as 'Its been a long time' (missing apostrophe) and 'our school friends will also coming there' (incorrect verb form). You rely almost exclusively on simple sentence structures. To improve, you must focus on using correct punctuation, including full stops and commas, and practice forming more complex sentences with accurate subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage.

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

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