Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-27

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 6.0)

Dear Simran,

I hope you are doing well! I am writing to ask if you are interested in a bicycle that you can buy from me.

First of all, I wanted to tell you that I am not using my bicycle. The main reason is that working at a shop that does not allow me to ride a bicycle anymore. I thought you would be interested to know about this because you are very health-conscious, and cycling not only improves your mental health greatly but also saves you time as well.

Also, my bicycle is in good condition. In fact, it has solid brakes, and all the gears are working properly.

finally, yo would be like it most you want to lose some weight. Instead going school on bus use bicycle which will help to lose some in few days and you can also save money and time.

anyway, i have to go now

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 no longer using the bike, describing it, and suggesting why your friend would like it. However, the development of these points is somewhat limited. For example, the description of the bicycle is quite brief, focusing only on the brakes and gears. The explanation for why your friend would like it is repetitive, focusing heavily on health and weight loss. To reach a higher band, you should expand on these ideas with more detail and personal flair to better suit the informal tone of a letter to a friend.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical progression, moving from the purpose of the letter to the description and finally the recommendation. You use some basic cohesive devices like 'First of all', 'Also', and 'finally'. However, the paragraphing is inconsistent and the flow between sentences is sometimes abrupt. For instance, the transition in the final paragraph is a bit disjointed. Improving the use of linking words and ensuring each paragraph has a clear, singular focus would help the letter feel more cohesive and natural.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

Your vocabulary is generally adequate for the task, allowing you to communicate your message clearly. You use some relevant terms such as 'health-conscious', 'mental health', and 'good condition'. However, the range is somewhat limited and there are instances of awkward phrasing, such as 'working at a shop that does not allow me to ride a bicycle anymore'. To improve, try to incorporate more varied adjectives and idiomatic expressions that are appropriate for a friendly letter, and pay closer attention to word choice to ensure your meaning is precise.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and some complex sentence structures. However, there are frequent grammatical errors throughout the text, such as 'Instead going school on bus use bicycle' and 'yo would be like it'. Punctuation is also inconsistent, with missing capital letters at the start of sentences and some missing articles. While these errors do not completely impede communication, they are frequent enough to affect the overall fluency of your writing. Focusing on basic subject-verb agreement and sentence construction will significantly improve your score.

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

Browse more IELTS Writing model answers or get your own writing scored by the same AI examiner.