Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-05

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 6.5)

Dear Harsh,

I hope that you are doing well. I am writing this letter to inform you that I just bought a new bicycle and I want to sell by old bicycle.

After buying new bicycle i no longer need my the old one. As you seen when you visit my house last month the old bicycle is in a very exilent situation. The reason I bought new one that my new college is on top of the hill and my old bicycle does not have gear system it was difficult and exhosting for me to drive uphill. Other than the gear system it does not have any other issue.

I recently found out that you joined college that is far from your house.

I think that you should buy my old bicycle because it would be easier for you to commute to college. We can discuss the price in person. Please let me know if you are interested to by it.

Kind regards

Karanvir Singh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response covers all three bullet points: explaining why the bicycle is no longer used, describing the bike, and suggesting why the friend would like it. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, the development of ideas is somewhat basic. For instance, the description of the bicycle is limited to the lack of a gear system and its 'exilent situation'. To reach a higher band, you should provide more descriptive details about the bike (e.g., color, brand, or frame type) and expand on why it would specifically suit your friend's needs beyond just commuting. Despite this, all parts of the prompt are addressed clearly.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purpose of the letter to the description of the bike and finally the proposal. Paragraphing is used, though the structure is slightly cramped. Cohesive devices are present but somewhat mechanical (e.g., 'The reason I bought...', 'Other than the gear system...'). The transition between the description of the bike and the suggestion for the friend is clear, but the overall flow could be improved with more varied linking words to connect sentences more naturally. The referencing is generally clear, ensuring the reader understands the context throughout.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The vocabulary is adequate for the task but lacks variety and precision. There are several spelling errors, such as 'exilent' (excellent), 'exhosting' (exhausting), and 'by' (buy). These errors are noticeable but do not impede communication. You rely on simple, repetitive phrasing like 'new bicycle' and 'old bicycle'. To improve, try to incorporate more descriptive adjectives or synonyms to describe the condition and features of the bike. The range is sufficient to convey the message, but it does not demonstrate the flexibility required for a higher band score.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The response uses a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors, such as missing articles ('bought new one'), incorrect verb forms ('As you seen'), and prepositional issues ('interested to by it'). While these errors are frequent, they do not prevent the reader from understanding the intended meaning. The punctuation is generally functional, but the lack of consistent capitalization and minor syntax errors suggests a need for more careful proofreading. Increasing the accuracy of basic sentence construction will significantly improve your score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.