Band 5.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-09

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 5.0)

Dear Aaysha,

How are you, Hope you are doing good. I am very excited to said that, I brought a new car.Its really nice with red colour. Now I can go everywhere by car. My bicycle is not useful for me, I used my car for job and college.

My bicycle is in very good condition and its colour is red wine which is looking so beautiful in day as well as in night also, And as you know its long seat is so comfortable when you came on long weekends we both went at park. and its breaks is working wonderful you told me that its feel like sport bike. My bicycle tyres are ne

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, which significantly impacts the development of the ideas. While you addressed all three bullet points—explaining why you are selling the bike, describing it, and suggesting why your friend would like it—the content is underdeveloped and ends abruptly mid-sentence. To improve, you need to expand on your points with more detail and ensure the letter reaches the required length. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, but the lack of completion prevents a higher score.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks a clear structure and paragraphing. The ideas are presented in a somewhat disjointed manner, and the transition between the reason for selling the bike and the description of the bike is abrupt. There is a lack of cohesive devices to link sentences smoothly. For example, the shift from discussing the car to the bicycle is sudden. To improve, you should use clear paragraph breaks for each main point and employ linking words such as 'furthermore', 'consequently', or 'in addition' to guide the reader through your letter.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The vocabulary is quite basic and repetitive. You rely on simple adjectives like 'nice', 'good', and 'beautiful'. There are also some awkward collocations, such as 'I am very excited to said that' (should be 'to say') and 'its breaks is working wonderful' (should be 'brakes are working wonderfully'). To achieve a higher band, you should aim for more precise vocabulary, such as 'pristine condition' instead of 'very good condition' or 'ergonomic seat' instead of 'long seat'. Spelling errors like 'brought' instead of 'bought' also detract from the overall quality.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text that occasionally impede clarity. Examples include subject-verb agreement issues ('its breaks is working'), tense confusion ('I used my car' instead of 'I use my car'), and incorrect word forms ('excited to said'). The sentence structures are mostly simple, with limited attempts at complex sentences. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing capital letters and incorrect comma usage. To improve, focus on mastering basic subject-verb agreement and ensuring consistent verb tenses throughout your writing.

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

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