Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-13

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 Mohit

i hope you doing well, i am writing this letter to inform you about my bicycle that i want to sell you as i purchased a car so no need for now.

To begin with, earlier i am using bicycle for commuting to my workplace which is in nearby my living area, unfortunately i got transfer to new loaction which around 10 Kms from my home. it's very difficult for me to use bicycle for travelling so i decide to buy a car.

i bought this bicycle last year March ,2025 in $1200 from Hero company , it's black and white combination with gears and helmet, looks very fascinating while riding bicycle it has several advantage foe health. i sell this very reasonable price for you, probably i thought you will be best candidate for this as i taking care for your health scenario, although it provides many features like different gears, holding water bottles cap at the front and disc break to stop it immediately. i think it's best for to buy this bicycle.

i am looking forward to get your response soon.

yours faithfully

Sam

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

You have addressed all three bullet points required by the task: explaining why you are selling the bike, describing it, and suggesting 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, while you mention the bike has gears and a helmet, the description could be more vivid to entice your friend. Additionally, the explanation of why your friend would like it is slightly repetitive regarding health. To improve, ensure you expand on your points with more specific details or personal anecdotes to make the letter more engaging and fully developed.

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 like 'To begin with' and 'although'. However, the flow between sentences is sometimes hindered by grammatical errors and awkward phrasing, such as in the second paragraph where the transition between the job transfer and buying a car feels a bit abrupt. The use of referencing is occasionally unclear, and the overall structure could benefit from more varied linking words to improve the logical progression of your ideas.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

You have a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message, using terms like 'commuting', 'fascinating', and 'reasonable price'. However, there are several instances of awkward word choice and collocation errors, such as 'health scenario' instead of 'health and fitness' or 'holding water bottles cap' instead of 'water bottle holder'. Additionally, there are some spelling errors like 'loaction' and 'foe' (for). To reach a higher band, focus on using more precise collocations and ensuring your spelling is accurate throughout the text.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

Your writing shows a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures, but there are frequent grammatical errors that occasionally impede the flow. Common issues include missing articles ('I am using bicycle'), incorrect verb tenses ('I am writing... as I purchased a car so no need for now'), and punctuation errors, such as the misuse of commas and capitalization. For instance, 'i' should always be capitalized. While the meaning is generally clear, the high frequency of these errors prevents the text from achieving a higher score. Focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage.

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

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