Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-08-30

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)

Dear Amit

I am writing this letter to let you know I want to sell my bicycle and I would like you to have it.

As you already know I bought a car last year in December and before that I used to commute by this cycle to local places. It is my one of my favourite things.

I ordered this bicycle from Amazone which costs me $150 and still this is in good in condition. It is black in color with new tires and its company is TATA.

Being a friend I am aware about your situation these days. I know you just got new job and not going to spend even on necessary things. I can totally understand because I was on the same page last year. That's why I was thinking to sell this bicycle to you just in $50 and i am even ok if you don't want to pay.

I am waiting for your response

With love

Sukh

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all three bullet points in the prompt. You clearly explained why you are no longer using the bicycle (purchasing a car), provided a description of the bike (black, TATA brand, new tires), and explained why your friend would appreciate it (he recently started a new job and is budget-conscious). The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, being informal and warm. To reach a higher band, you could provide more vivid descriptive details about the bicycle's condition or features to make the offer more persuasive, but overall, the task requirements are fully met.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

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 some cohesive devices, such as 'As you already know' and 'That's why', to link your thoughts. However, the transition between the description of the bike and the offer could be smoother. Additionally, the paragraphing is functional, but the letter would benefit from more varied cohesive markers to connect sentences more fluidly rather than relying on simple sentence structures.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate range of vocabulary for this task, such as 'commute', 'necessary things', and 'on the same page'. While the vocabulary is generally accurate and conveys your meaning well, it is somewhat basic. There are a few minor errors, such as 'Amazone' (spelling) and 'its company is TATA' (which is slightly unnatural phrasing). To improve, try to incorporate more precise adjectives to describe the bicycle's condition or more sophisticated collocations to express your empathy regarding your friend's financial situation.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You use a mix of simple and complex sentence structures. While your meaning is always clear, there are several grammatical slips, such as 'It is my one of my favourite things' (redundant 'my'), 'costs me $150' (tense inconsistency; should be 'cost'), and 'I am aware about' (preposition error; should be 'aware of'). Punctuation is also inconsistent, particularly with missing commas in complex sentences. Despite these errors, they do not impede communication. To improve, focus on subject-verb agreement and consistent tense usage when narrating past events.

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

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