Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-07

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)

Dear Asfand,

Hope you are doing well. I have passed my matriculation exams successfully and now got admission in college which is far away from my home. My father bought me a bike because it's hard to go with bicycle. Now, I no longer need bicycle and willing to sell it.

It's red in color and fully maintained. it's condition like a new. It was also bought for me when I passed the grade eight. I use it only for two years and now want to sell. This is the bicycle on which we often go out for fun and play.

As your college is near to your home. You can go on bicycle easily, and I know you're profound to have a bicycle since your childhood. Yesterday, your father was talking about to buy a bicycle for you. If you willing to buy, let me know.

Your sincere,

Umair Ali.

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 suggesting why your friend would like it. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. However, some ideas are slightly under-developed; for instance, the description of the bicycle is quite brief. While the purpose is clear, the response would benefit from more descriptive language regarding the bicycle's features or condition to fully satisfy the 'well-developed' requirement of higher bands.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter is logically organized into three distinct paragraphs, each corresponding to a specific bullet point. The progression of ideas is clear, moving from the reason for selling to the description, and finally to the offer. However, the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical. For example, the transition between sentences could be smoother; some sentences feel slightly disjointed, such as 'It's red in color and fully maintained. it's condition like a new.' Improved use of linking words would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary is adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message clearly. You use some relevant terms like 'maintained' and 'admission'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'profound to have' (likely meaning 'keen to have') and 'hard to go with bicycle' (which is unnatural). To reach a higher band, you should aim for more precise collocations and a slightly wider range of descriptive adjectives to make your writing more engaging.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. There are several grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'got admission in college' (missing article), 'it's condition like a new' (missing verb 'is'), and 'talking about to buy' (incorrect verb form). While these errors do not impede communication, they are frequent enough to prevent a higher score. Focusing on subject-verb agreement and the correct use of articles would significantly improve your accuracy.

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

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