Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-09-22

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 Ansh,

I hope you are doing well.

I'm writing to inform you that I have a professional cycle to sell, which we don't ride often now.

I purchased this decathlon pro cycle for my younger brother six months ago, as he always asks me to buy a professional cycle for his practice. Now, he moved to US for his higher studies, it's been one month that we barely ride it.

It is competitive cycle which has gear shifting technology with pencil tires for better grip and speed. It also left with one and half year warranty for its part. On top of that, my brother recently had done its service.

I know that you have interest in cycling. I brought it for 1000$ but I planned to sell it out for 600$ only. I think it a great deal for you.

I am waiting for your response before I post it on marketplace.

Best regards

Shubham.

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response — Band 7.0

The student successfully covers all three bullet points required by the task. First, they explain why the bicycle is no longer in use, noting that the younger brother moved to the US for higher studies. Second, they describe the bicycle by mentioning features like the gear-shifting technology, pencil tires, remaining warranty, and recent servicing. Third, they explain why the friend might like it by highlighting the friend's interest in cycling and offering a favorable price of six hundred dollars compared to the original cost. The tone is appropriately informal and friendly throughout the letter. The requirements of the task are fully met with clear, relevant, and well-developed ideas. Therefore, a solid band score is warranted for this criterion based on the thorough coverage.

Coherence and Cohesion — Band 6.5

The letter maintains a clear overall progression and logical organization from the opening greeting to the final sign-off. Ideas are sequenced sensibly, starting with the purpose of the letter, moving into background details and a description of the bicycle, and concluding with the price and next steps. Paragraphing is used to separate distinct topics, such as the reason for selling in the first paragraph and the bicycle details in the second. However, cohesion is at times slightly mechanical, with limited use of advanced cohesive devices. Expressions like 'Now, he moved to US' and 'On top of that' are functional but basic. Referencing is generally clear, though minor improvements in linking sentences would enhance the flow.

Lexical Resource — Band 6.0

The student uses an adequate range of vocabulary suitable for a general task about selling an item to a friend. Examples such as 'professional cycle', 'gear shifting technology', and 'marketplace' demonstrate an appropriate vocabulary for the context. However, there are some word choice and collocation inaccuracies, such as 'competitive cycle' instead of 'competition cycle' or 'racing bicycle', and 'recent had done its service' instead of 'recently been serviced'. Furthermore, 'brought' is used instead of 'bought'. While these lexical errors do not impede communication, they reflect a band 6 level where less common vocabulary is attempted with some inaccuracy.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy — Band 6.0

The student demonstrates a mix of simple and complex sentence structures, such as the introductory complex sentence 'I'm writing to inform you that I have a professional cycle to sell...' and compound structures like 'I know that you have interest in cycling.' Grammatical control is generally acceptable, but there are several noticeable errors. For instance, 'we don't ride often now' is somewhat unnatural, 'he moved to US' misses the definite article, and 'it's been one month that we barely ride it' contains tense and preposition issues. Additionally, 'I think it a great deal' lacks a verb. Despite these frequent minor errors, meaning is rarely obscured, aligning well with the band 6 descriptors.

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

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