Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-06

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 Jack,

I hope you're doing well. What I want to say is to congratulate you for your success of getting admission in One of the top colleges of our city. I think you need a personal vehicle to travel there every day. Thus, I have bicycle that you can buy from me.

Although I have been using that bicycle for long time, now I don't need it every day as I have other vehicles at home. The company, where I am working as a accountant, have moved close to my home. So, I can go there by walk.

Having using the bicycle for 5 years, It is still look like new .

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 5.0

The response fails to meet the minimum word count requirement of 150 words, reaching only 113 words. This significantly impacts the development of the ideas. 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 descriptions are quite brief and lack the necessary detail to fully develop the response. To improve, you need to expand on your points, such as providing more specific details about the bicycle's features (e.g., brand, color, or condition) and elaborating on why it would be a perfect fit for your friend's commute.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.0

The letter follows a logical progression, starting with a greeting and moving through the required points. However, the paragraphing is underdeveloped, and the use of cohesive devices is somewhat mechanical. For example, the transition 'Although I have been using that bicycle...' is a good attempt, but the overall flow between sentences feels a bit disjointed due to the brevity of the paragraphs. To reach a higher band, ensure that your ideas are linked more fluidly and that you use a wider variety of transition words to connect your thoughts more naturally.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.5

The vocabulary used is generally adequate for a personal letter, but it is quite basic and repetitive. Phrases like 'I have bicycle' and 'look like new' are functional but lack the precision and variety expected at higher levels. There are also minor errors in word choice, such as 'success of getting admission' (should be 'success in getting admission') and 'go there by walk' (should be 'go there on foot'). To improve, try to incorporate more descriptive adjectives and idiomatic expressions suitable for an informal letter to a friend.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.5

The response contains several grammatical errors that affect the accuracy of the writing. Notable issues include 'congratulate you for your success of getting admission' (should be 'congratulate you on your success in getting'), 'I have bicycle' (missing article 'a'), and 'Having using the bicycle' (incorrect verb form, should be 'Having used'). While you attempt some complex structures, they are often marred by these errors. Focusing on basic sentence construction and ensuring correct verb tenses and article usage will help improve your score significantly.

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

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