Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-03

IELTS Writing Task 1 question

You have a bicycle that you are no longer using. You would like to sell it to a friend.

Write a letter to your friend. In your letter
• explain why you are no longer using your bicycle.
• describe your bicycle.
• explain why you think your friend would like to have it.

You do NOT need to write any addresses.

Begin your letter as follows:

Dear _________,

Student answer (Band 6.0)

Dear Friend,

Hope u are doing well! I need to inform u that I want to sell my bicycle because I don't need it longer because my father is going to transferred to another city so, I will not be able to take it along with me.

The colour of the bicycle is red. It's speed is maximum. The tires of the bicycle is brand new. I always used to keep it neat and clean and take a good care of it.

I am sure that you would like this bicycle because it has all the facilities that you would needed. I had brought this bicycle at $50 but I would like to give you at $30. Please reply me as soon as possible otherwise I can sell this bicycle to any other person, as we are transferring to other city by next week, so that I can make the arrangement related to this.

Yours Friend

Parul

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points in the prompt: explaining why you are selling the bike, describing it, and explaining why your friend would like it. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat limited. For example, the description of the bicycle is quite brief, focusing only on color, speed, and tires. To improve, you should provide more descriptive detail to make the bicycle sound more appealing to your friend. The purpose of the letter is clear, and the message is communicated effectively throughout the response.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter is organized into logical paragraphs, which helps the reader follow your points. You use some basic cohesive devices such as 'because' and 'so'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes a bit mechanical. For instance, the transition between the description of the bike and the offer to sell it could be smoother. Additionally, the use of 'u' instead of 'you' is informal and inappropriate for an IELTS task, even in an informal letter. Improving the variety of linking words and ensuring consistent paragraph structure will help improve your score in this area.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message, such as 'transferring', 'arrangement', and 'facilities'. However, there are some word choice errors, such as 'I don't need it longer' (should be 'any longer') and 'I had brought this bicycle' (should be 'I bought'). The use of text-speak like 'u' is a significant issue as it is not standard English. To reach a higher band, you should focus on using more precise vocabulary and avoiding informal abbreviations, while ensuring that your word choices are grammatically and contextually accurate.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

There is a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Examples include 'my father is going to transferred' (should be 'is going to be transferred'), 'The tires of the bicycle is' (should be 'are'), and 'you would needed' (should be 'you would need'). Additionally, there are punctuation issues, such as missing commas in complex sentences. While the meaning is generally clear, the frequency of these errors suggests a need for more careful proofreading and a better grasp of verb tenses and subject-verb agreement.

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

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