Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-30

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 Sara,

I hope you are doing well.I am writing this letter to tell you that,this summer i rented a house by a lake.

I am very excited to let you know about this house. house is looking so beautiful besides of the lake. There is two masters bedroom and one hall with kitchen.As well as swimming pool is also there.

Every morning ,i liked to drink tea from the terrace.Therefore, i can enjoyed the view. Additionally, I used to read book at the corner of lake.Also,watched a sunset from my room is so satisfying.As well as , sometimes i lie down on a terrace and loved to count the stars.

I invite you to come here , so we can spend summer together.Believe me , you enjoyed this place. In addition to this, this peaceful environment calm your mind and you will make memories.

I hope you come soon to spent summer holidays here.

Yours lovingly,

Fahima

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 5.5

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. Fahima clearly describes the rented house by mentioning that it has 'two masters bedroom and one hall with kitchen' alongside a 'swimming pool'. She outlines how she spends her time by describing her morning tea on the terrace, reading by the lake corner, watching sunsets, and counting stars. Finally, she extends a clear and welcoming invitation for her friend Sara to visit. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. The bullet points are all addressed, although the ideas could be expanded slightly further for maximum development, placing this comfortably within Band 6.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a clear beginning and ending. Paragraphing is used to separate the greeting, the description of the house, daily activities, the invitation, and the sign-off. However, cohesion is sometimes faulty or mechanical. For instance, the transition 'Therefore, i can enjoyed the view' is awkward, and the overuse of connector phrases like 'As well as' and 'In addition to this' feels repetitive and disrupts the natural flow of ideas. Referencing is generally clear, but punctuation errors around commas and spaces occasionally hinder seamless progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

Fahima uses an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully communicating everyday concepts. She attempts some less common vocabulary such as 'peaceful environment', 'satisfying', and 'memories'. However, there are noticeable word choice and collocation errors, such as 'besides of the lake' instead of 'beside the lake' and 'two masters bedroom' instead of 'two master bedrooms'. Spelling and word formation errors, while present, do not impede overall communication. The lexical range is sufficient for a Band 5.5 performance.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.0

The student attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as using subordinate clauses like 'so we can spend summer together' and 'when you come soon'. However, there are frequent grammatical errors regarding tense consistency and verb forms, such as 'i liked to drink' mixed with 'i can enjoyed' and 'watched a sunset from my room is'. Punctuation and spacing errors are also prevalent throughout the text (e.g., missing spaces after commas and periods). Because errors occur frequently and can occasionally cause minor difficulty for the reader, the grammar aligns with Band 5.0 descriptors.

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

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