Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-24

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 6.5)

Hi Sheena,

How are you? Hope your are doing well. I am writing to you to inform you about thinking of selling you my bicycle which I purchased last year, on reasonable price.

As you are aware, that purpose of buying bicycle was to commute to my office daily using that. This ensured that I stay physically active despite having tight working schedules. Moreover, my current office was just a two kilometers away from my home, so riding bicycle to office was not challenging at all. But, recently my office has moved to new location, which is roughly about ten kilometers away from my home. In addition to this, area where my office is relocated, currently having no parking facilities for bicycles. They may have in future, but I donot intend to travel everyday 20 kilometers daily using my bicycle. That will be beyond my capacity.

Bicycle is hardly a year old. In fact, after purchasing it, I spent additionally for many accessories as and when I felt for upgrading my bicycle. I would like to mention few for you here. Firstly, it has a basket attached in front, so that items can be kept in it while travelling. Secondly, there is a bottle holder at the left side of bicycle, so you donot have to bother to carry a bottle in hand. The holder can accommodate from anywhere between 300 liters to 1 liter bottle as holder is adjustable. Thirdly, I have added on carrier too, so that you can take your little sister for ride to whenever she feels like joining you. Lastly, you know that bicycle is in tour favourite sky blue colour.

Sheena, when I decide to sell my bicycle, you were the first persona came to my mind. As I know you too were looking for a bicycle for daily use, but couldn't afford it due to your financial conditions. Furthermore, I am also confident that you will take good care of my bicycle, as you know that I was and I am still very close to it. I am attaching a few current photographs with this letter, so that you can get an idea of it's current condition.

Do le

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.5

You have addressed all three bullet points of the task effectively. You explained why you are no longer using the bicycle (office relocation), described the bicycle in detail (accessories, color, age), and provided a clear reason why your friend would appreciate it. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend. The ideas are well-developed and relevant, providing a comprehensive response that fully satisfies the requirements of the prompt.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organized into clear paragraphs, each focusing on a specific aspect of the task. You use a range of cohesive devices such as 'Moreover', 'In addition to this', 'Firstly', and 'Furthermore' to link your ideas. While the progression is generally smooth, there are occasional minor issues with referencing and flow, such as the abrupt ending 'Do le'. Despite this, the overall structure is logical and easy to follow throughout the response.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate a sufficient range of vocabulary to convey your message clearly. You use specific terms like 'commute', 'accessories', and 'accommodate'. However, there are some inaccuracies in word choice and collocation, such as 'on reasonable price' (at a reasonable price), '300 liters' (likely meant milliliters), and 'in tour favourite' (in your favourite). These errors do not impede communication but indicate a need for more precise control over common collocations.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While you successfully communicate your ideas, there are frequent grammatical errors, particularly with articles ('the purpose of buying bicycle'), prepositions, and verb forms ('Hope your are doing well', 'I donot intend'). Punctuation is also inconsistent in places. While these errors are noticeable, they rarely prevent the reader from understanding your meaning. To reach a higher band, focus on subject-verb agreement and article usage.

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

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