Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-21

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 Aman,

How are you? Hope this letter finds you well. Are you aware of the bicycle which I used to ride? Although, I'm not using it right now so I'd like to sell it to you.

As you know, I shifted to another city for my higher education. Therefore, I bought another bicycle there and my previous one is not in use from a long time period. There is no one suitable at my home to ride a bicycle except me.

My bicycle is in a very good condition as I regularly take care of its parts. It's a beautiful red coloured cycle which suits our personality. I always make sure to get it repaired even when a small fault occurs. It's a well equiped cycle with the a basket on its head.

I know that you daily travel to college on public transport. Sometimes you even miss your bus due to several circumstances. Hence, I thought that you would like to have a bicycle for your smooth travelling. Please inform me soon about your decision.

Looking forward to hear from you. See you soon!!

Kind Regards

XYZ

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all bullet points required by the prompt. You clearly explained why you are no longer using the bicycle by mentioning that you shifted to another city for higher education and bought a new one there. You provided a clear description of the bicycle, noting that it is in very good condition, red-coloured, and equipped with a front basket. Finally, you successfully explained why your friend would like to have it, pointing out their daily struggle with public transport and missed buses. The tone is appropriate for a letter to a friend, and all parts of the task are adequately developed. Therefore, this satisfies the requirements for a Band 7.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter is logically organised with a clear beginning, middle paragraphs addressing specific bullet points, and an appropriate sign-off. Paragraphing is used sufficiently and effectively to separate different ideas, such as the reason for selling in paragraph two, the description in paragraph three, and the reason your friend would want it in paragraph four. Cohesive devices are used reasonably well, such as 'Therefore', 'Hence', and 'Although'. However, some minor referencing issues occur, such as starting with 'Although, I'm not using it right now', which lacks a complete contrasting clause. Overall progression is clear, supporting a Band 7.0 rating.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

You demonstrate an adequate and generally appropriate range of vocabulary for this task type. Expressions like 'higher education', 'public transport', and 'smooth travelling' show a satisfactory command of lexical items suitable for informal correspondence. However, there are a few lexical inaccuracies and awkward collocations, such as 'from a long time period' (instead of 'for a long time') and 'equiped cycle with the a basket on its head' (where 'head' is misused for 'front' or 'handlebars', and 'equiped' contains a typo). These errors do not impede communication, placing your lexical resource at a Band 6.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

You attempt a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, including conditional or causal links like 'As you know, I shifted to another city...' and 'Hence, I thought that you would like...'. There are several grammatical errors and awkward phrasing choices throughout the text, such as 'the bicycle which I used to ride' and 'is not in use from a long time period'. Punctuation and articles also show minor lapses, such as 'with the a basket'. Despite these errors, meaning remains clear throughout the response, which aligns with the descriptors for Band 6.0.

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

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