Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · 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 5.5)

Dear Riya,

I hope you are doing well. I witing to inform you that I am planning to sell my bicycle due to my higher studies in canada. So I would like to sell it to you because you are my best friend. Yesterday I saw your mother accidently and I knew you are looking a bicycle for the purpose of partime work. I am so happy to sell my bicycle to you due to some reasons. My grand parents gave this bicycle on my 25th birthday that is the main reason this bicycle is speacial for me. Moreover, It is a new bicycle and I take care of the bicycle like child.I only using for the bicycle for school travelling. The model is Mountain Bike and It has gear shifting facilities therefore It is very comfortable at any types of rough roads, hills,mountains and so on.Also you can put the water bottle on the bicycle.It is very smooth and adjacent.It has green with black color bicycle and you can adjust the seats as well. I think It coast around 500 dollars including tax however I will give some reduction for you because you are my best friend.

I trust you because you will take care of my cycle. Iook forward to

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 6.0

The candidate has successfully addressed all three bullet points required in the prompt. First, the reason for no longer using the bicycle is clearly explained due to higher studies in Canada. Second, the bicycle is described covering its color, model as a Mountain Bike, and adjustable features. Third, the explanation for why the friend would like it is well-covered, noting her need for a bicycle for part-time work and offering a price reduction. The tone is appropriate for a friendly letter. However, some ideas such as the emotional attachment to the bicycle and grandparents' gift are slightly over-elaborated relative to the main prompt requirements. Minor omissions in fully developing some points are compensated for by the overall coverage, placing this comfortably at Band 6.0.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 5.0

The letter lacks proper paragraphing, presented mostly as a single block of text with only two sentences separated at the end, which impairs the visual organisation. Cohesive devices are sometimes mechanical or faulty, such as repetitive use of 'due to' and 'because'. The progression of ideas is occasionally disjointed, jumping abruptly from the grandparents' gift to the bicycle features, and then to the price. Pronoun referencing is generally clear with 'it' referring to the bicycle, but the lack of paragraph breaks hinders clear logical structuring. This performance aligns well with the Band 5.0 descriptors for Coherence and Cohesion.

Lexical Resource — Band 5.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for the task, attempting some less common items such as 'gear shifting facilities' and 'emotional attachment'. However, there are noticeable spelling and word-choice errors, such as 'witing' instead of writing, 'accidently' instead of accidentally, 'partime' instead of part-time, 'speacial' instead of special, 'coast' instead of cost, and 'adjacent' used incorrectly. Despite these errors, the meaning remains comprehensible throughout the letter. The range is sufficient for the task, but errors in spelling and collocation keep the lexical score at a Band 5.0.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 5.0

The writer attempts a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as conditional and causal clauses using 'because' and 'therefore'. However, grammatical accuracy is weak, with frequent errors including missing auxiliary verbs ('I witing' instead of 'I am writing'), preposition errors ('looking a bicycle' instead of 'looking for a bicycle'), tense inconsistencies, and punctuation issues. Run-on sentences also occur, such as 'It is a new bicycle and I take care of the bicycle like child.I only using for the bicycle for school travelling.' These frequent errors occasionally cause difficulty for the reader, placing the grammar score at Band 5.0.

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