Band 6.5 IELTS Writing Task 1 Model Answer

Overall Band Score: 6.5 · Barron's Writing · 2026-10-06

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 Sahil,

I hope you are doing well.I wanted to tell you that the Gear bicycle 2025 that I got last year, I am planning to sell it beacause I am flying to continue my higher education in New York University. I would not be able to take it with me and I remember you wanted the same bike and it was out of stock.

I know you would love it so I would love to ask you if you want it. It is black, model 2025 with six gears with speeding controls. LED backlights.I think you would love it as you wanted to buy a new bicycle to go to school. I bought it for $150 but I would just give it to you for $50.

If you are interested to get it so just let me know. I will wait for your response.

Take care.

Yours truly,

Muskan

AI examiner evaluation

Task Achievement / Task Response: Band 7.0

You have successfully addressed all parts of the letter prompt. You clearly explained why you are no longer using your bicycle by mentioning that you are flying to New York University for your higher education and cannot take it with you. You also provided a good description of the bike, noting that it is black, a 2025 model, equipped with six gears, speeding controls, and LED backlights. Furthermore, you explained why your friend would like it, reminding him that he wanted the same model when it was out of stock and that he needs a bicycle to go to school. Your position is clear throughout the letter, and the ideas are well-extended and supported with relevant details, such as the price you paid and the discounted price you are offering him.

Coherence and Cohesion: Band 6.5

The letter maintains a coherent overall arrangement with a natural, friendly tone appropriate for a personal letter. You have used appropriate foundational cohesive devices, such as referencing pronouns like 'it' and 'that', as well as conjunctions like 'and' and 'so' to connect your ideas. However, the progression between some sentences feels slightly mechanical, and paragraphing could be managed more effectively by separating the different bullet points into distinct paragraphs rather than clustering them together. To move towards a higher standard of organization, you could use a wider variety of transitional phrases and ensure clearer referencing throughout the body of your text.

Lexical Resource: Band 5.5

You have used an adequate range of vocabulary for the task, successfully incorporating topic-specific words such as 'higher education', 'out of stock', 'gears', and 'backlights'. You also attempted some less common phrasing, but there are a few noticeable errors in word choice and spelling. For instance, 'beacause' contains a spelling mistake, and phrases like 'interested to get it' could be expressed more naturally as 'interested in getting it'. While these lexical inaccuracies do not impede communication, addressing them and incorporating a broader variety of precise, natural expressions will help elevate your vocabulary control.

Grammatical Range and Accuracy: Band 6.0

You demonstrated a mix of simple and complex sentence forms in your writing, such as the relative clause in 'the Gear bicycle 2025 that I got last year'. There are some errors in grammar and punctuation, including a run-on sentence and missing punctuation in 'LED backlights.I think', as well as a slight awkwardness in phrasing clauses such as 'I wanted to tell you that the Gear bicycle 2025 that I got last year, I am planning to sell it'. However, these grammatical lapses rarely impede communication and the majority of your sentences remain understandable. To improve further, focus on varying your sentence structures and refining your punctuation to ensure smoother syntactic control.

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

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