Band 5.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 5.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-03

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 Umer,

I hope you are doing well. It has been a long time since we last spoke.

I am writing to inform you about my bicycle, which I am going to sell. Therefore, I would like to upload the pictures of my bicycle on facebooks' market place. I remembered yesterday, you like my bicycle and you also need it for your new part-time job. Consequently, I thought I should ask you first before publish the advertisment.

Another thing, I want to share with you is I purchased a motorbike last sunday. That is the main reason behind the selling of bicycle. Moreover, you saw and rode my cycle, however you know much about it. Furthermore, You love the colour and design of guitar, printed on the rodes of it It has no any defect and recently, I changed both of its tyre. If you will take it, you won't need for any repair, you will use it without any problem.

Let me know what you think, and hope to hear from you soon.

Take care and write back soon.

Best wishes,

Kinza latif

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 6.5

The response successfully covers all three bullet points required in the task instructions. The writer explains why they are no longer using the bicycle by mentioning the recent purchase of a motorbike, describes the bicycle including its design and new tires, and explains why the friend would want it for a new part-time job. While all parts are addressed, some ideas remain slightly under-developed or casually explained, which prevents the score from reaching a higher tier. For instance, the description of the bicycle includes some slightly confusing references to a 'guitar printed on the rodes of it' instead of clear details, and the tone, while friendly and appropriate for a personal letter, occasionally shifts abruptly in organisation. The purpose of selling the bike to a friend is clearly established, and the opening and closing conventions of a personal letter are appropriately managed throughout the text.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 5.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement and follows a clear narrative path from greeting to farewell, utilizing paragraphing to separate different topics such as the reason for selling and the description of the bicycle. However, the cohesion relies heavily on somewhat mechanical or basic transitional devices like 'Consequently', 'Another thing, I want to share with you', and 'Furthermore', which creates a slightly choppy flow between sentences. Referencing is occasionally unclear, such as when pronouns jump between the bicycle, the motorbike, and a guitar design without entirely smooth logical connections. While the organization is adequate to follow the writer's intent, the overuse and occasional awkwardness of cohesive markers prevent the response from achieving a more fluid logical progression.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.0

The vocabulary used is adequate for the task, successfully communicating the main message regarding the sale of the bicycle. The writer attempts some less common vocabulary items and functional phrases like 'part-time job' and 'advertisment', but struggles with accurate word choice, spelling, and word forms. There are notable lexical slips, such as spelling 'market place', 'advertisment', and 'sunday', as well as confusing word choices like referring to 'rodes' instead of roads or frames, and mentioning a 'guitar' design on a bicycle. These inaccuracies and spelling errors are noticeable, though they do not seriously impede overall communication. To reach a higher level, the vocabulary needs greater precision, better control over collocations, and fewer spelling mistakes.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 5.5

The writer employs a mix of simple and complex sentence forms, demonstrating attempts at conditional structures such as 'If you will take it, you won't need for any repair'. However, these complex structures frequently contain grammatical errors, particularly regarding tense consistency and preposition usage, such as 'you won't need for any repair' instead of 'you won't need any repairs' and 'selling of bicycle' instead of 'selling the bicycle'. There are also minor punctuation slips and awkward phrasing like 'It has no any defect'. Despite these errors, the mix of structures allows the reader to follow the meaning easily, and many simple sentences remain error-free, meaning the mistakes rarely impede communication overall.

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

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