Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-15

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 Roshal,

hope you are doing good.It's been a long time to see . I am writing this letter to let you know about my bicycle .

I bought this cycle last year as i need this for my daily commute from house to work place. As you know that, I switched my job because of more opportunities. So I am going to sale out my bicyle . Because my workplace is far from my residence and public transpotation is much comfortable and cheeper . That's why i have decided to sale out my cycle .

It is one year old with gear system in red colour . Moreover it's seat is very comfertable for ride You can carry th

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, as it is only 120 words long and ends abruptly mid-sentence. While you have addressed the three bullet points—explaining why you are no longer using the bike, describing it, and suggesting why your friend would like it—the development of these ideas is severely curtailed by the incomplete nature of the letter. To improve, you must ensure you fully expand on each point and reach the required length to avoid a significant penalty. The abrupt ending prevents a proper closing, which is essential for a letter task.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.5

The letter shows a basic attempt at paragraphing, but the flow is interrupted by the unfinished nature of the text. You use some cohesive devices like 'Moreover' and 'That's why', which help link ideas, but the overall structure is fragmented. The lack of a proper conclusion or sign-off further impacts the coherence of the letter format. To improve, ensure that your ideas are fully developed within each paragraph and that you include a standard closing, such as 'Best wishes' or 'Looking forward to hearing from you', to provide a sense of completion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for a simple letter, but there are several spelling errors, such as 'transpotation', 'cheeper', and 'comfertable'. You also use 'sale out' incorrectly; the correct phrasal verb is 'sell'. While you attempt to describe the bicycle, the range of vocabulary is limited. To reach a higher band, focus on accurate spelling and using more precise collocations. For example, instead of saying 'I need this for my daily commute', you could use 'I required it for my daily commute' or 'It served as my primary mode of transport'.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

There are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, including issues with articles ('the' bicycle), verb tenses ('I need' instead of 'I needed'), and punctuation (spacing before periods). The sentence structures are mostly simple, and the errors occasionally make the text slightly difficult to follow. For instance, 'It's been a long time to see' is unnatural; a better phrasing would be 'It has been a long time since we last met'. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage, and proofread your work to correct basic punctuation and spacing errors.

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

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