Band 6.0 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.0 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-01

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 6.0)

Dear Arsh,

I hope you are doing well. I am writing this letter to ask if you would be interested in my bycycle cause I am not no longer user it.

Recently, I am started using the public transportation to go for any work and university. As a result, my bycycle has been sitting for several months.

I bought this cycle about two years ago, and still it is a very good conditon. It is blue mountain with the 21 gears as well as comfortable seats and strong breaks. There are some scratches on it but it will work properly.

Furthermore, I thought of you beacuse I know you enjoy to do the cycling speacially on the weekends. You can use this as short time trips and long as well which you enjoyed well.

Please let me know if you are interested. We can discuss the price when we meet

Best wishes,

Ritika

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all bullet points of the prompt, showing a clear purpose throughout. The tone is appropriately informal for a letter to a friend. You clearly explain why you are no longer using the bicycle, describe its features such as the gears and condition, and give reasons why your friend would enjoy it. However, the development of ideas remains slightly uneven. For instance, while the description of the bike and the reasons for selling are adequately introduced, some points show a tendency toward brief or under-developed elaboration, which prevents the response from reaching the highest tier. To push towards the next level, you could expand more fully on the specific types of weekend cycling trips your friend enjoys, offering richer details about how the bicycle fits their lifestyle.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and a logical progression from the greeting to the closing. Paragraphing is used appropriately to separate distinct ideas, such as the reason for selling in the second paragraph, the bicycle's physical description in the third paragraph, and why your friend would like it in the fourth. However, some cohesive devices and referencing are slightly mechanical or awkward, such as transitioning with 'Furthermore, I thought of you beacuse I know you enjoy to do the cycling speacially on the weekends.' Referencing is generally clear, but smoother transitional phrases would enhance the flow and create a more natural connection between paragraphs, bridging the gap toward higher band standards.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

Your vocabulary range is adequate for the task, successfully conveying basic information about the bicycle. You attempt some less common vocabulary items and descriptive terms, but these are accompanied by noticeable spelling and word choice errors. For example, 'bycycle' is misspelled twice, 'conditon' has a missing letter, and 'breaks' is misused instead of 'brakes'. Other lexical inaccuracies include phrasing like 'enjoy to do the cycling' instead of 'enjoy cycling'. These errors do not impede communication, but they highlight the need for greater precision in spelling and collocations to reach a higher performance level.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

You demonstrate a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, successfully linking ideas with conjunctions. There are, however, some grammatical and punctuation errors present. For instance, you write 'cause I am not no longer user it' (double negation and incorrect verb form), 'Recently, I am started using' (incorrect tense aspect), and 'still it is a very good conditon' (awkward word order). Punctuation is also missing at the end of the final sentence. While these errors rarely impede overall communication, the presence of these recurring mistakes in verb forms and sentence structures keeps your grammar score at this level. Increasing your control over complex sentence patterns and ensuring tense accuracy will help you improve.

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

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