Band 7.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 7.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-14

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 7.5)

Dear Peter,

I hope this message finds you well. I'm writing this letter to know if you're interested in buying my bicycle, which is no longer in my use.

As I have recently moved in with my friends to an apartment nearby my college, I usually travel by walk. Additionally, due to a very limited space for storage I'm unable to keep this bicycle.

However it is still in an excellent condition. It is basically a mountain bicycle with all rear and front guards intact, which makes it an appropriate choice for driving in rough terrains. Moreover, it comes with a specialized feature for safety by providing additional brakes for front tires for a better control.

I genuinely believe that you should get it for yourself, as you do camping and hiking very often. Therefore, it will give you a completely different experience along with safety. Furthermore, I think the color combination of red and black will also settles well with your personality.

I look forward to seeing you riding the bicycle.

Best regards,

Tim Cook

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 8.0

The response successfully addresses all three bullet points of the prompt. You clearly explain why you are no longer using the bike (moving to an apartment with limited storage), describe the bicycle's features (mountain bike, guards, safety brakes), and provide a logical reason why your friend would enjoy it (camping and hiking hobbies). The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and the purpose of the communication is clear from the outset. The ideas are well-developed and relevant to the task requirements, demonstrating a solid understanding of the prompt's expectations for a General Training Task 1 letter.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 7.5

The letter is logically organized with a clear progression of ideas. Each paragraph focuses on a specific aspect of the prompt, which helps the reader follow your message easily. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'Additionally', 'However', 'Moreover', and 'Furthermore' to link your sentences and paragraphs. While the flow is generally smooth, the transition between the description of the bike and the suggestion to buy it could be slightly more natural. Overall, the paragraphing is appropriate, and the use of referencing is clear throughout the text.

Lexical Resource — Band 7.0

You demonstrate a good range of vocabulary suitable for this task. Phrases like 'specialized feature', 'appropriate choice', and 'rough terrains' show an ability to use more precise language. There are a few minor collocation issues, such as 'travel by walk' (should be 'walk' or 'travel on foot') and 'settles well with your personality' (should be 'suits your personality'). Despite these minor inaccuracies, the vocabulary is sufficient to convey your meaning clearly and effectively, and you successfully attempt to use less common lexical items to describe the bicycle's features.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 7.0

The response displays a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. You show control over most of your grammar, though there are a few slips. For instance, 'no longer in my use' is slightly unnatural (better as 'no longer in use'), and 'will also settles well' contains a subject-verb agreement error (should be 'will settle'). However, these errors are infrequent and do not impede communication. The punctuation is generally accurate, and the overall grammatical control is strong enough to support the clear expression of your ideas throughout the letter.

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