Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-04

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 5.5)

Subject: information about bicycle

Dear Raman ,

I hope you are doing well.It is a good news for you that I am not using my bicycle more longer because I know that you face difficulty go to one place to another place . Moreover , I have more other transport option .

If I talk about my bicycle then I say that my bicycle is very new and no need to repair of it . It is blue colour and new model.

I think that my freind like this bicycle from childhood . Unfortunately he didn’t afford of it because this is very expensive . He also face more difficulties from one place to another place . One day I realize that bicycle I gave you .

I hope you keep my bicycle in a proper way because this is gift which I got from my parents.

Your friend

Kamalpreet Kaur

Take care

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.5

The letter addresses all three bullet points: explaining why you are no longer using the bike, describing it, and explaining why your friend would like it. However, the development of these ideas is somewhat limited. The explanation for why you are selling it is a bit repetitive, and the description of the bicycle is quite basic. Furthermore, there is a confusing shift in the third paragraph where you refer to 'he' and 'him' instead of addressing your friend directly as 'you'. This inconsistency makes the purpose of the letter slightly unclear at times, though the overall intent remains understandable.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is organized into short paragraphs, which is appropriate for a personal letter. However, the logical flow is hindered by the inconsistent use of pronouns. For instance, you switch from addressing 'Raman' to talking about 'he' and 'him' in the third paragraph, which creates confusion for the reader. Cohesive devices are used, such as 'Moreover' and 'If I talk about', but they are sometimes used in a mechanical or slightly unnatural way. The progression of ideas is present but lacks the smooth transitions required for a higher band score.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is generally limited and repetitive. Phrases like 'go to one place to another place' are used twice, which indicates a lack of lexical variety. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'no need to repair of it' and 'didn't afford of it'. While the meaning is generally clear, the range of vocabulary is insufficient to express ideas with precision or sophistication. To improve, you should focus on learning more natural collocations and avoiding the repetition of basic phrases.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the letter, including issues with articles ('It is a good news'), verb tenses, and preposition usage ('repair of it'). Sentence structures are mostly simple, and attempts at more complex sentences often contain errors, such as 'I know that you face difficulty go to one place to another place'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing spaces after commas and periods. While the errors do not completely prevent communication, they are frequent enough to cause some difficulty for the reader and indicate a lack of control over basic structures.

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

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